Prop. 8
Rally Takes Manhattan

On the same day that the state of Connecticut began allowing same-sex marriages, thousands of New Yorkers gathered to protest the recent ruling in California taking away those same rights.

Over 15,000 people gathered Wednesday night in protest of Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative that overturned a recent court ruling allowing same-sex marriage. Prop. 8 passed with 52.5% of the vote after members of the Mormon church donated over $20 million to pass the initiative.

After similar protests in California and Utah, New Yorkers turned out in droves and marched down Columbus Drive in New York, blocking traffic for six blocks. Protesters carried candles, homemade signs, and a huge banner with the words "God Loves Gay Marriage" scrawled across it.

"Two, four, six, eight, we have got to stop the hate," protesters yelled. A few drivers stopped in traffic joined in the chanting as the march passed by.

"People are really fired up and outraged at what happened in California," radio host Michelangelo Signorile said. "It's something that just touched a nerve in everybody, the idea that they took away a right that we already had and that this church was instrumental in doing that."

The march, which started at the Manhattan Mormon temple and ended at Columbus Circle, was planned three days in advance. "It was done completely on Facebook and it was just word of mouth," said Corey Johnson, one of the organizers for the event.

The rally ended at the southwest entrance to Central Park, after one protester climbed on a lamppost and shouted down to the marchers, "What do we want? Equality! When do we want it? Now!"

Dean Jansen and his husband marched in the protest and carried a sign saying "Obama: Help Us Stop H8." Jansen said President-elect Barack Obama needs to be more vocal in his support for gay rights.

"Before the election he came out and said it was very divisive and discriminatory. Now that he's elected, it's safe, he can do it now. And it's an opportunity. And so many people believe in him and believe in what he's all about and he's really the leader we need to send out that message."

Jansen and his husband Sal Valles married in California on June 17. The couple has been together for 14 years. "We grew up and were raised in California, so we were extremely disappointed that it passed. We felt like our home state let us down," Jansen said.

There were no counter protests and very few people yelled in opposition. One girl passed the banner and shouted, "Fair's fair! They voted yes!" while shaking her head. She refused to say anything else.

Signorile said the protest was just a sign of how galvanized people have become over the ruling. "It was California, and people know it could happen elsewhere. It could be any right, not just marriage," he said.

As to whether this is a second Stonewall, Signorile said he hoped so. "Every generation has that wake up call, where people get comfortable, they think, 'Oh, we have an openly gay talk show host, we have this, we have that," he said. "And they suddenly realize, 'Oh my God, they took away our rights.' It's something a new generation needs to realize."

The rally ended around 8 p.m. The next New York protest is planned for Saturday at 1:30 at City Hall.