Feature Archives

On November 19th, the California Supreme Court granted review in the legal challenges to Proposition 8, a ballot measure that denied equal marriage rights to those in same-sex partnerships. In a sign that the court may not be willing to take a strong stand against discrimination, the court voted 6-1 not to let marriages resume while it considers the proposition's constitutionality.

Join the Impact organized nationwide protests on November 15th against Proposition 8 and other anti-gay measures that were passed in November 4th's election. The SF protest took place on the front steps of City Hall. The Oakland protest took place in Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. Other local protests included Santa Cruz, Sacramento, Fresno, Modesto, Mountain View, San Rafael, Santa Rosa and Tracy.

On November 4th, California voters passed Proposition 8. The proposition would amend the California constitution to specify that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Lambda Legal Defense, NCLR and the ACLU have urged the California Supreme Court to invalidate Proposition 8. The groups argue that Prop. 8 is invalid because it improperly attempts to undo the constitution's core commitment to equality and deprives the courts of their essential role of protecting the rights of minorities.

Supporters of same-sex marriage have protested the results of Tuesday's vote. On Friday November 7th, tens of thousands gathered at 5:30pm in San Francisco's UN Plaza for a No On 8 rally and marched to Dolores Park. Large protests have also taken place in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, Oakland, Redwood City, Palo Alto, Sacramento, Modesto and even in Salt Lake City.

On November 2nd, over 1,000 people came to downtown Fresno for a NO ON 8 rally. The rally at Fresno City Hall was followed by an impromptu march to the County Clerks office to demand marriage equality. The keynote speaker at the rally was Father Farrow, who was a priest at the Saint Paul Newman Center in northeast Fresno. . . until he came out (last month) against Proposition 8. For this courageous act, he was suspended as a priest and removed as pastor.

Proposition 8 is an initiative measure on the 2008 California General Election ballot titled "Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry." If passed, the proposition would "change the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California." Recent polls put the initiative ahead 47 to 42 percent among likely voters. San Francisco's No on 8 office at 2278 Market St. has Saturday rallies at 10 a.m. followed by phonebanking.

In conjunction with its October production of "The Laramie Project", Pisces Moon Productions is collaborating with the Matthew Shepard Foundation to present “Raising Ourselves/Erasing Hate: An Invitation to Change,” providing for a dialog about the power that one individual has to change their world and adopt the values of respect and dignity for others. This free performance will feature spoken word artists, musicians, actors, speakers and victims of hate crimes. It will take place from 7 - 9 PM at Louden Nelson Center, 301 Center Street in Santa Cruz, on September 6th.

The 2008 Watsonville Gay Pride Parade Committee, a group of diverse volunteers, organized the first ever pride parade in Watsonville on August 24th. The celebration was a huge success, with 325 people marching through the streets and over 500 enjoying a party in the plaza.