The Orion Online

Issue date: 11/19/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Brian Randle Musical theater major, Paula Buresh marches through the streets of Chico to speak out against Proposition 8 on Saturday. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Brian Randle Jasmine Ingersoll and Christina Brower display their disapproval of Proposition 8 in front of hundreds of spectators Saturday in City Plaza. [Click to enlarge]

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Waves of protesters pulsated through downtown Saturday afternoon shouting, "Gay, straight, black, white, marriage is a civil right," while pumping colorful signs into the air to show their opposition to Proposition 8.

Richard Seward, one of the organizers of the protest, said the proposition eliminates Californians' rights.

"It's about civil rights," Seward said. "It's not about children. It's not about tax exemptions. It's not about anything else except the basic right to form a family and to document that with the state."

About 500 people attended the rally.

The measure passed with 52 percent of the vote, according to the Secretary of State's election results Web site.

Community reaction to the rally was largely positive. Drivers honked their horns and hollered. At one point, protesters completely enclosed the Chico Farmers' Market, taking up all four blocks surrounding it.

Several speakers rallied the crowd, talking about personal experiences and calling out voters for supporting a measure they said perpetuates inequality before the group departed from City Plaza.

Marriage Equality USA, a national activist group that works to secure same-sex marriage equality, called for a nationwide protest against the California proposition on its Web site.

As of Monday, more than 119,000 people participated in the protests in cities across the globe, according to Join the Impact, a Web site for international activists.

Proposition 8 doesn't nullify same-sex marriage licenses, but Council Member Scott Gruendl thinks lawsuits aimed at voiding the licenses may begin to materialize, he said. Gruendl, who led the protest, married his male partner of 14 years Sept. 20.

"If our other legal processes fail to stop the implementation of Prop 8, I have no doubt that a lawsuit will be filed to overturn the licenses," Gruendl said.

Six groups have petitioned for the state Supreme Court to overturn Proposition 8 as of Monday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The court may decide today whether to review the suits and postpone the proposition from taking effect until all legalities are cleared.

Senior Brigid Jeffers thinks a misleading TV ad campaign that played on peoples' fears helped pass the measure, she said.

"People fear what they don't understand," she said. "So they would rather just vote to exclude people because they don't understand."

Massachusetts and Connecticut are the only states that recognize same-sex marriages.

Gay and lesbian couples were able to marry after the California Supreme Court overturned Proposition 22 on May 15. About 18,000 same-sex couples are legally married in the state, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Meghan Moriarty can be reached at
mmoriarty@theorion.com


Photos by Erik Aguilar, Marcella Garofalo and Brian Randle

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