In Los Angeles on Saturday November 15th, protesters clustered shoulder to shoulder angrily, albeit peacefully, near City Hall before setting off on a downtown march, chanting and carrying rainbow flags and signs bearing messages such as "No More Mr. Nice Gay" and "No on H8."I was lucky enough to attend.
It is estimated that 10,000 to 12,000 people attended the event, well below the 40,000 the department had expected.
Still, demonstrators called the event a success, noting that participants had been galvanized by a loosely organized grass-roots campaign that sprang up after the Nov. 4 election. Not to mention that there was a heat-wave sweeping through Los Angeles this past weekend and temperatures hung around a sweltering 90 degrees.
My friends and I marched loudly and proudly, holding signs like "Seper8 Church & St8" and "Next time we'll vote on YOUR rights". As always, I showed up fully armed... with my camera, to shoot all the action. I've included a slideshow of some of my favorite moments, including some of the best signs I could find, plus a short video clip taken from my phone.
We are in a new kind of civil rights moment right now - there has already been change but there is still so much more to come. Anything you can do to help stand up for the LGBTQI community is something show your support and show that we deserve the same rights as anyone else...remember every little bit counts. Just remember one thing - do it peacefully, do it respectfully and do it with honor.
I will leave you with a quote: “Those who make peaceful revolutions impossible will make violent revolutions inevitable” - John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Repeal Prop 8 Protest - Los Angeles
