Marriage Equality
Supporters Protest At San Diego Hyatt

About 150 protesters gathered outside San Diego's Manchester Grand Hyatt on Friday to protest owner Doug Manchester's financial donation to a ballot initiative that could ban same-sex marriage in California, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The protest, organized by Fred Karger and his group Californians Against Hate, coincides with a boycott of the Hyatt and two other hotels owned by Manchester, who is a strict Catholic who doesn't believe in same-sex marriage. He donated $125,000 to get Proposition 8 on California's November ballot. Manchester told advocate.com on Thursday that he believes local unions are aiding the boycott and protest because the Manchester Grand Hyatt is not unionized.

There was also a counter-protest on Friday, but only about 50 Manchester supporters showed up. "I'm committed to marriage," Christopher Miladian, one of those attending, told the Union-Tribune. "I want to protect our culture." (The Advocate)