10,000 Civil Rights Activists Protest Same Sex Marriage Ban in San Francsico from Polidoc on Vimeo.
Video by Babette Hogan, Photos by Luke Thomas
By Luke Thomas
November 8, 2008
As many as 10,000 civil rights protesters held a rally Friday to protest the passage of Proposition 8, a measure passed by California voters Tuesday that eliminates the right of same-sex couples to marry.
Wielding signage that read “Go H8 in your own State,” “Repeal Prop 8,” and “Christ for Equality,” the protesters marched from San Francisco Civic Center to Dolores Park, bringing mid-town rush-hour traffic along Market Street to a virtual standstill.
At Market and 9th streets, protesters locked arms in solidarity chanting, “Our streets. Our rights. We will not be quiet.”
Yesterday’s protest followed a candlelight vigil held Wednesday outside San Francisco City Hall. Speakers included outgoing Senator Carole Migden, Senator Elect Mark Leno, Assemblymember Elect Tom Ammiano, Supervisor Bevan Dufty, and Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
Supervisor Bevan Dufty
Earlier Wednesday, City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed a petition for a writ of mandate with the California Supreme Court to invalidate Prop 8. The suit argues “that the California Constitution’s equal protection provisions do not allow a bare majority of voters to use the amendment process to divest politically disfavored groups of constitutional rights.”
More protest photos after the jump.
Luke Thomas
Luke Thomas is former software developer and computer consultant who proudly hails from London, England. In 2001, Thomas took a yearlong sabbatical to travel and develop a photographic portfolio. Upon his return to the US, Thomas studied photojournalism to pursue a career in journalism. In 2004, Thomas worked for several neighborhood newspapers in San Francisco before accepting a partnership agreement with the SanFranciscoSentinel.com, a news website formerly covering local, state and national politics. In September 2006, Thomas launched FogCityJournal.com. The BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, New York Times, Der Spiegel, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Magazine, 7x7, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Bay Guardian and the San Francisco Weekly, among other publications and news outlets, has published his work. Thomas is a member of the Freelance Unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521.
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