Monday, November 17, 2008

Prop 8 Protest & March in DC


When Proposition 8 in California passed on Nov 4, marriage equality for gay couples in the entire U.S., not just CA, suffered a huge blow. Anti-gay groups across the nation will doubtless be emboldened by the "success" of their CA (and Utah) counterparts' vicious and unnecessary attack on civil rights. More of these propositions may arise, and more state Constitutions may be amended to deny the right of marriage to many citizens. All they have to do is collect (or forge) some signatures, then pour a lot of church money into highly deceptive advertising and marketing.

Now that Prop 8 and similarly disastrous initiatives in other states have passed, there's no imminent election on which to focus the marriage equality movement's attention. The goal now is more vague, and there's a risk of losing momentum after such a disappointing loss.

There's hope that this won't happen, though. Facebook members across the country organized protest marches for Sat., Nov. 15, and the Event Invitation for the DC march got over 3,000 "attending" responses. I have no idea how many people actually showed, but I'd guess it was at least 1,500, possibly thinned out by some unfortunately-timed torrential downpour. 

This was a protest against a vote that already happened. It was about being angry. It was about continuing the fight. I hope there's a backlash against this kind of injustice, now that the focus can move away from the biggest election of the past few decades. This is a start, but it needs to keep going. And it needs to grow. 

That's my sign! If you don't get it, watch this Keith Olbermann's Special Comment. Photo by flickr member: dcjay64

Photo by Jamison Grella

Photo by JG

Photo by JG

Photo by JG

Photo by JG

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