Recently in Gay Marriage Category

California Senator Dianne Feinstein, long been a supporter of gay rights, has now fully embraced marriage equality. She discussed her journey during a recent interview with Maureen Dowd on "NBC Nightly News."

"I think as more and more people have gay friends, gay associations, see gay heroism, that their views change," Feinstein said in the interview. "I think people are beginning to look at it differently, I know it's happened for me. "I started out not supporting it. The longer I've lived, the more I've seen the happiness of people, the stability that these commitments bring to a life. Many adopted children who would have ended up in foster care now have good solid homes and are brought up learning the difference between right and wrong. It's a very positive thing."

It was Feinstein who found the body of slain San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk 30 years ago this week and she also discussed the horror of that in the NBC piece:

"I was the one who found his body," she said. "To get a pulse, I put my finger in a bullet hole. It was a terrible, terrible time in the city's history." In the midst of all of the sadness she also became the city's acting mayor: "I inherited a city that was stunned and divided. The divisions were fueled by both hatred and sorrow. Over time, we were able to put the city back together, but the events of that day will remain seared in our memories forever."

I wish I could keep up with all that is happening on the gayu marriage and Prop. 8 protest front but it could literally become a full-time job. But I'm trying my best! Here are some of the latest developments from today:
** Eight days after California voters passed Prop. 8, same-sex couples in Connecticut were "allowed" to start getting married. A final judgment came this morning on the state's gay marriage case and gay couples were immediately eligible to pick up their marriage licenses. Connecticut and Massachusetts are currently the only two states in the nation where same-sex couples can legally marry.

**** Scott Ecker, Artistic Director for California Musical Theatre under fire for donating $1,000 to the Yes on 8 Campaign, resigned from his job today.

He said in a statement: "I understand that my choice of supporting Proposition 8 has been the cause of many hurt feelings, maybe even betrayal. It was not my intent. I honestly had no idea that this would be the reaction. I chose to act upon my belief that the traditional definition of marriage should be preserved. I support each individual to have rights and access and I understood that in California domestic partnerships come with the same rights that come with marriage.
My sister is a lesbian and in a committed domestic partnership relationship. I am loving and supportive of her and her family, and she is loving and supportive of me and my family. I definitely do not support any message or treatment of others that is hateful or instills fear. This is a highly emotional issue and the accusations that have been made against me are simply not true.

I have now had many conversations with friends and colleagues, and I am deeply saddened that my personal beliefs and convictions have offended others. My choice to support the Proposition was personal, and does not represent the views and opinions of California Musical Theatre or the many people associated with the organization. I was required by law to identify my employer and occupation at the time of my donation."

"...I am disappointed that my personal convictions have cost me the opportunity to do what I love the most which is to continue enriching the Sacramento arts and theatre community."

**** El Coyote Mexican Restaurant in LA opened its doors early to host about 70 opponents of Proposition 8 Wednesday, many of whom had been longtime customers, to address the fact that Marjorie Christoffersen -- a manager - a $100 donor to the Yes on 8 campaign.

Advocate.com reports that In the restaurant's back dining room, a visibly shaken and tearful Christoffersen trembled as she read from a prepared statement. "I'm sick at heart if I offended anyone in the gay community," Christoffersen said as family members flanked her.

She pleaded with the crowd not to boycott the restaurant, telling them the only people to get hurt are the families of the El Coyote's 89 employees. "This was a personal donation," she said, "not the El Coyote's. It saddens me that my faith may keep you away from the El Coyote."

The debate on what to do continued after Christoffersen finished her remarks. A brief question-and-answer period deteriorated into a shouting match between some of the Prop. 8 opponents and Christoffersen. Her family then hustled her out of the restaurant.

There is a growing number of people in the LGBT community who have vowed to boycott the eatery, the site of unofficial gay Thursday night happy hours.

Advocate.com writes that outside the restaurant, one gay couple said they had been twice-a-week customers. One of them said he didn't know if they would be back, but his partner chimed in to say he didn't think he could ever go back.

"That changes my answer," the first man said, holding up his hand and showing his wedding ring. "We're married, and I'm not going back without him."

This is a woman who knows how to express herself and you know what I mean if you've ever watched any of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meetings on TV. County Supervisor Gloria Molina on Wednesday released the following statement after the board decided to join the city of Los Angeles and San Francisco and Santa Clara counties in supporting a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8, which eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry:

"I am proud to present this motionco-sponsored by my colleague, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavskyto join an existing lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8. It is important for us to take a stand and uphold the equal rights of all California residents.

Last week, Proposition 8 passed by a narrow five percent margin. It eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marryand it effectively overturned the May 2008 California Supreme Court decision which found the ban on same-sex marriages to be unconstitutional on equal protection grounds.

There are three separate court challenges to Proposition 8. Their arguments are two-fold: First, that revoking an existing right guaranteed by the Equal Protection Clause of the California State Constitution is not an amendment but a revision. Second, that such a move is not a fundamental right that could be subject to popular vote; rather, it is a deliberative process requiringat a minimuma Constitutional Convention or a two-thirds vote of the California State Legislature in addition to a popular vote.

And I agree.

Some may ask why, as a county supervisor, I would get so directly involved in this issue. First, as a county, we are directly responsible for the issuance of marriage licenses. Second, we are elected officials sworn to uphold the constitution. But thirdand, in my view, most importantlywe face the dilemma of balancing the enforcement of Proposition 8 with upholding the fundamental equal protection rights of all our citizens. Simply put, we need clarity on this issue, and I believe joining one of these legal challenges to Proposition 8 is the most prompt and effective way of achieving this goal.
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Separate from the legal level on the very human and personal level feel compelled to say that Proposition 8s passage saddened and angered me for several reasons.
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First, Proposition 8s passage basically mandates that certain people have fewer rights than others. It says that certain brothers, sisters, daughters, aunts, uncles, mothers, and fathers are second-class citizensthat though they have all the responsibilities of citizens, they have fewer rights. That is wrong.

Second, the right to marrywith all of its attendant rights and responsibilitiesis a civil right, one that has nothing to do with religion. Nothing in the California Supreme Courts ruling or the Equal Protection Clause gives anyone the right to force any religious institution to marry anyone. So Proposition 8 is not about religion. It is about discrimination. And lest we forget, it took a California Supreme Court decision to overturn miscegenation laws in this state. As late as 1967, 16 states still had miscegenation laws on the books and in their respective constitutions. Back then, like now, opponents of this change used the same religious arguments being made today. President-Elect Barack Obamas parents would not have been able to get married in those 16 states.

Lastly, as a Latina, I am well aware of discrimination. I have dedicated my entire political career to fighting it. I began my career advocating on behalf of Spanish-speaking, Latina immigrant women whose most fundamental right of reproductive choice was taken away by others. Specifically, it was taken away by a group of county physicians who gave them no choice and no voice and who made the decision that sterilization was right for them. Such abuses of power could not stand then and they cannot stand now.

While the focus is on the gay and lesbian community, I think this is a civil rights issue for everyone. Every vulnerable minority group in this state should be extremely concerned about the ability of the majority to reach into the constitution and change it to single them out and opt them out of the constitutions protections. That is something no one in this state can or should support. And it is something I intend to fight against.

E! Online's Ted Casablanca got George Clooney to comment on the passage of Prop. 8 for his Awful Truth blog.

Here is what the Oscar winning star had to say: "At some point in our lifetime, gay marriage won't be an issue, and everyone who stood against this civil right will look as outdated as George Wallace standing on the school steps keeping James Hood from entering the University of Alabama because he was black."

If you live in Los Angeles, you certainly have heard of or been to El Coyote Mexican Restaurant on Beverly near La Brea. It's been around since 1931. They have strong margaritas and cheap food and the lively atmosphere inside cannot be beat.
It's about a mile or so from my house and it is where I have celebrated many friends' birthdays and had many weekday dinners after work. I even had my going away party there when I left my job at The Hollywood Reporter more than seven years ago.

Well, it seems that the manager of this restaurant, wildly popular with gays, contributed $100 to the YES on PROP. 8 campaign and people are irate. Marjorie Christoffersen is apparently holding some kind of press conference this morning about it and my Daily News colleague Justino Aguila is there covering it so I'll have an update later.

Some gay marriage supporters are calling for a boycott. Flickr user Jeff Johnson writes that he talked with Marjorie at El Coyote yesterday and asked her about the situation, accoridng to an item on METBLOGS. She told him, "I love you guys, I would never do anything to hurt you, I wish I hadn't done it".

It's a real slap tp a lot of loyal customers and I'm anxious to hear her explanation.

Then there's this: Roland Spongberg, the president of WKS Restaurant Group which runs many of the El Pollo Loco restaurants in Southern Califonria, reportedly gave $6,000 to the YES ON 8 campaign in August, according to the That is So Queer site.

This story is developing so stay tuned...

Earlier posts:
-- Gavin Newsom: The In Los Angeles Interview
-- Gavin Newsom takes Biden to task for his debate answers about gay marriage...
-- SF Mayor Gavin Newsom's passionate remarks in Denver against Prop. 8

This is such an interesting time. There's the "second Stonewall" feeling with protesters marching the streets and making themselves seen and heard in a glorious way. Then there is looking ahead with various legal battles on several fronts and the question of what happens to the marriages of the same-sex couples who took the plunge during the five months that it was allowed in California.

Most fascinating is the post-mortem on what happened and how it happened.

Do the leaders of No on 8 take the blame for having commercials that were too soft and for not doing enough grassroots campaigning in the African-American communities? Were people just too complacent? Should African-American voters - 70 percent of those who voted in favor of Prop. 8 - be criticized for voting to take rights away from anyone? Where do we go from here?

Interesting questions worth pondering. I'm still learning about it all and don't have any answers that I feel confident giving. But I'm eager to hear what you all think went went wrong and where we can go from here.

You have got to watch this remarkable commentary on gay marriage by MSNBC's Keith Olbermann. I'm just amazed by its clarity and honesty and wish the people on television talked this way more often - from the heart.

Here's some excerpts from the text but do take the time ti watch it:

To me, this vote is horrible. Horrible. ...this isnt about yelling, this isn't about politics. This is about the human heart...if you voted for this proposition or supported those who did, I have some quesrions:

Why does this matter to you? What is it to you? ...

"All you need to do is stand and let the tiny ember of love meet its own fate..you don't have to help it, you don't have to applaud it, you dont have to fight for it. Just don't put it out, just dont extinguish it...That love is in fact the ember of your love for your fellow person."

Wanted to alert Out In Hollywood readers to this program on KPFK tonight because it is being moderated by Karen Ocamb, news editor for IN Los Angeles and Frontiers magazines.

Here is the rundown for: "Passage of Prop 8: What Happened, the New Equality Activism and What's Next?" This one hour live show focuses on Proposition 8 - the ballot initiative that just overturned marriage equality in California.

Joining Karen for this lively discussion will be:

- Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California and a leader in the No on Prop 8 campaign

- Jenny Pizer, Senior Legal Counsel for Lambda Legal

- Sky Johnson, Senior Policy Counsel for the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and deputy campaign manager for the No on Prop 8 campaign

- Ron Buckmire, academic, activist, blogger and Board President for the Jordan/Rustin Coalition

Later in the program, Karen will open up the discussion to people who call in with questions or comments.

The Program will also be streamed live on KPFK.

The passage of Proposition 8 last week may have made same-sex marriage illegal in the state of California - for now - but it has also ignited a whole new gay rights movement..I am stunned and heartened at the level of energy and outrage in recent days at major protests across this state and elsewhere over the weekend.

Here is YouTube video from Silverlake followed by a story from CBS News:

And here is a round-up of what went down according to various news sources:

** In San Diego on Friday: :An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people marched from Hillcrest to North Park behind a giant rainbow flag in protest of Proposition 8. Chants for equality were sometimes drowned out by drivers honking their horns in support of the passing crowd. Signs waved and bobbed in the air with slogans such as "We Shall Overcome" and "Not Gay, Love You Anyway."

** In San Francisco Friday: An estimated 2,000 protesters marched down Market Street toward Dolores Park. The march stretched out for at least three city blocks, and the protesters completely blocked Market Street's westbound lanes and the eastbound lanes in places.

** In Long Beach Friday: A demonstration stretched out for five or six blocks. "Hate is not hot," read a banner at the front of the marchers. About 2,000 demonstrators marched in a peaceful protest Later, demonstrators congregated for about 20 minutes at the intersection of Broadway and Alameda Street, blocking traffic in all directions. The demonstrators then moved on before stopping at the intersection of Long Beach Boulevard and First Street, where many of them sat down in the street.

** In Palm Springs on Friday: A crowd of several hundred gathered in front of the city hall, chanting "Civil rights" and "Tax the Church." One sign read: "We will not give up."

** In Salt Lake City on Friday: Protesters marched around the headquarters of the Mormon church Friday night, criticizing the church's support for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in California. "Separate church and state," the crowd chanted as it marched, some waving rainbow flags or carrying signs with messages like "Mormons: Once persecuted, now persecutors." An estimate from Salt Lake City police, who blocked downtown city streets for the march, put the number of participants at more than 2,000.

** In Silverlake on Saturday: An estimated 12,500 boisterous marchers converged for more than three hours at Sunset and Santa Monica boulevards near the site of the former Black Cat bar, which the city recently designated a historic-cultural monument for its '60s role as home of the local gay rights movement. Police guided the demonstrators through the streets without major confrontations.

** In Orange County on Sunday: About 1,000 gay-rights advocates gathered outside the large Saddleback Church in Lake Forest to protest the evangelical congregation's involvement in passing Proposition 8.

** In Sacramento on Sunday: About 2,500 people gathered on the Capitol steps Sunday afternoon after a noisy, three-hour rally against the marriage ban. About 400 assembled outside Oakland's Mormon Temple, forcing Highway Patrol officers to temporarily close two Highway 13 ramps to protect the marchers.
Here's a piece from last week's CBS This Morning that includes a nice interview with George Takei and Brad Altman:

Kimberly Peirce, the openly gay director of "Boys Don't Cry" and "Stop-Loss" was among those honored in Hollywood last night at the Behind the Camera Awards. I had a nice chat with her on the red carpet before the ceremony and she was only too happy to talk about the passage of Prop. 8 and its aftermath.

"I'm thrilled Obama is our president, I have not been so happy in a long time. But I'm disappointed about Prop. 8 passing. I feel devastated that, you know, the chickens got some rights (with passage of Prop. 2) and the gay people lost rights. I think if you want to have equality in a society then you need to support it. We're talking about civil rights here and to take away people's civil rights makes no sense."

But Peirce has been heartened by the uprising that has happened since: "I've been very proud of the level of protest. There's been protests every night. I'm a supporter of equal rights for everybody and I think now is the time."

On other topics, she assured me that it would not be nearly a decade between film projects as was the case with this year's "Boys Don't Cry" and 1999's "Stop-Loss." And after two such heavy dramas, she'll be doing a romantic comedy next time around. But she's not giving any details just yet.

"It's a classic romantic comedy, it's a love story, it;s got a lot of fun sex with a gender twist in it," she hinted. "It's my idea based on a true story. I'll be co-writing it and then I'll be directing it."

I am a huge fan of "Stop-Loss" and am glad it has enjoyed such a strong run on DVD after just doing so-so at the box office. Kimberly is clearly beloved by the movie's cast. Ryan Phillippe showed up Sunday to present her award along with cast members Abbie Cornish and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

"It came out on DVD and I know we're over 1 million units and I have www.stoplossmovie-com/soundoff/. I gave cameras to soldiers and their families and they make videos and they post them and I have over 1,000 comments on that site, people from all over the country. On Facebook we've got I think 4,000 members and then we;ve got 13,000 on MySpace. I've used it as an entertainment and political forum. I keep getting more and more people engaged in the issue. I believe in civil rights and protecting everybody and I've been amazed thatthe movie along with the political climate and brought about a certain amount of change. I think they're gonna stop having stop-loss which is indentured servitude. Let's just hope its better times."

"100,000 soldiers have been stop-lossed. I actually think we are going to stop sending people to war who havew already fought."

It's great to have one of "Charlie's Angels" on your side. At Saturday night's massive rally in Silverlake, Drew Barrymore joined in. Reports new Queerty.com editor Japhy Grant: Throughout the night, groups would join the protest as it made its way through Hollywood and environs. While passing through the Sunset Strip, the rally picked up everyone's favorite angel, Drew Barrymore-and paparazzi- who marched with the approximately 3000 swing shift protesters. As the exhausted but defiant crowd occupied the intersection of San Vicente and Santa Monica, Drew took to the microphone, tearfully telling the assembled crowd, "I will fight with you!"

Drew was not the only celeb in the crowd: also spotted was James Franco of "Milk," T.R. Knight, Wanda Sykes, Ricki Lake,Darryl Stephens, Peter Paige, and Wilson Cruz, among others.

I'm sorry, but I just do not get Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on the gay marriage issue. This is a man who TWICE, with the stroke of his pen, could have made it legal for same-sex couples to marry each other in California.

But he wanted to let the courts decide.

The court decided it was OK. But last Tuesday, the people decided differemtly and now gays can't marry each other anymore in this state.

But Schwarzenegger said in a CNN interview on Sunday that the fight for gay marriage was not over: "It's unfortunate, obviously, but it's not the end because I think this will go back into the courts, this will go back to the supreme court and all this, because the supreme court very clearly in California has declared this unconstitutional. It's the same as in the 1948 case when blacks and whites were not allowed to marry. This is -- this falls into the same category. I think that we will again maybe undo that, if the court is willing to do that, and then move forward from there and again lead in that area."

The governor also urged protesters to keep fighting and compared it to his weight-lifting days: "Sometimes I try to life the weight ten times and I failed, but the eleventh time I lifted it. So I learned that you should never ever give up. And I think it's the same with this issue. They should never give up. They should be on it, and on it, until they get it done."

Here's the video:

I want to thank everyone who has been sending in photos and accounts from the No on Prop. 8 rallies including this nice shot at the Westwood rally of Robin Tyler and Diane Olson, the first plaintiff couple named in the historic lawsuit that overturned California's ban on gay marriage and the first same-sex couple married in Los Angeles County in June. They are leading the legal fight again and have already filed a new suit.

There are plenty of protests going on tonight, Saturday and Sunday throughout the state. I will give you some detals on the one in Silverlake tomorrow but Andy Towle has compliled a very thorough list over at Towleroad.com so take a look. Events will take place in San Francisco, Mission Viejo, Palm Springs, Long Beach, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Salt Lake City, Laguna Beach, Sacramento, and Los Angeles.

In Silverlake: At 6pm, protesters will gather at Sunset Junction in Silver Lake, Corner of Sunset Blvd. and Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles.
The Westwood protest yesterday has resulted in some disturbing reports including a beating and several instances of racial slurs being hurled at protesters.

Liberty Hill's Development Director Darrell Tucci was at the protest at the Mormon Temple yesterday and blogged about being physically attacked. Here is part of what he wrote:

Shortly after we were approached by a man who told us not to proceed if we "knew what was good for us". Having been there all day we hadn't given it much thought. Long story short. [A] 20 year old woman, Amy, and I continued walking and were quickly jumped from behind by three men screaming at us that we had no business being outside THEIR temple. They knocked us on the ground and kicked us a couple times til the police ran over. Of course, the cowards ran away. The officer offered to help us up. Amy and I looked at each other, said no thank you, pulled ourselves up and brushed ourselves off.

I know this is long, so what's my point? Not for sympathy, I don't want any. Protesting comes with inherent risk. I share this because I am one story of the tens of thousands who took to the streets of Los Angeles tonight to demand our equality and show the general public and our opposition we are not going away. Others are far more hurt than I am tonight. People were arrested on both sides. It got ugly despite our attempts to keep it peaceful.
Is it the silver lining (if thats possible) to the passage of Prop 8 that the LGBT community has rediscovered it's voice? If you could witness what I did today, you might agree. I HOPE SO. Our community had grown complacent in our liberal bubbles of NY, LA, SF, etc. We cannot be complacent or we shall remain second, if not steerage class.

I'm bruised, I'm scraped, I'm tired, I'm sad and I am emboldened like never before.

Just as distubring are the reports of African-American protesters being called names, including the N-word, by some rogue Prop. 8 opponents who somehow blame all black people - gay or straight - for the passage of Prop. 8 because of the huge African-American voter turnout for Barack Obama and the high percentage of them who voted for the measure.

Karen Ocamb sent me this account:

Los Angeles resident and Rod 2.0 reader A. Ronald says he and his boyfriend, who are both black, were carrying NO ON PROP 8 signs and still subjected to racial abuse.

Three older men accosted my friend and shouted, "Black people did this, I hope you people are happy!" A young lesbian couple with mohawks and Obama buttons joined the shouting and said there were "very disappointed with black people" and "how could we" after the Obama victory. This was stupid for them to single us out because we were carrying those blue NO ON PROP 8 signs! I pointed that out and the one of the older men said it didn't matter because "most black people hated gays" and he was "wrong" to think we had compassion. That was the most insulting thing I had ever heard. I guess he never thought we were gay.

And finally, here is a video from the Wednesday night rally of a passionate speech given by John Duran:

The protests are still going strong and God bless every single person out there. There are several more marches planned for the weekend in LA, San Francisco and Long Beach. I'll provide an update later.

For now, here is an account from Advocate.com and LA's NBC4 of what happened yesterday at the extraordinary demonstration in Westwood. I was particularly struck by one sign I saw which read: "No More Mr. Nice Gay!"

NBC4 reports: Hundreds of supporters of same-sex marriage rallied outside a Mormon temple in West Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon to protest what organizers called hefty financial contributions by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the campaign supporting a measure that bans same-sex unions in California.

The rally began at 2 p.m. in front of the Los Angeles Mormon Temple then spilled onto Santa Monica Boulevard as sign-toting participants prepared to march to the nearby Federal Building in Westwood. A line of police surrounded the protest. Officers began shutting down freeway ramps along the 405 Freeway, possibly in response to the march. At about 4 p.m., officers closed Wilshire and Westwood boulevards. The march terminated near the intersection, jamming traffic in all directions.

(photo via Towleroad)

"No one's religious beliefs should be used to deny fundamental rights to others," said Lorri L. Jean, chief executive officer of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center. "Our civil rights are inalienable."

Jean said Mormons -- at the urging of church President Thomas Monson -- contributed more than $15 million to fund the campaign in support of Proposition 8.

"It is a travesty that the Mormon Church bought this election and used a campaign of lies and deception to manipulate voters in the great state of California," Jean said. "Today we will send a message to President Monson that we will not tolerate being stripped of our equal rights in the name of religious bigotry. They're entitled to their beliefs, but not to impose them upon the constitution or laws of California. Let's flood the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City with postcards."

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"It is a travesty that the Mormon Church bought this election and manipulated voters in the great state of California," -- Lorri L. Jean. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jean announced the creation of a Web site at www.InvalidateProp8.org, where people can donate to the legal fight to overturn the proposition. For every donation of $5 or more, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center will send a postcard to Monson.

The Church, in a written statement on its Web site had this to say: "Allegations of bigotry or persecution made against the Church were and are simply wrong. The issue for the Church has always been about the sacred and divine institution of marriage -- a union between a man and a woman. While the Church does not endorse candidates or platforms, it does reserve the right to speak out on important issues."

Advocate.com reports: Following the demonstration several protesters once again took it to the street, this time in the Westwood neighborhood, near the University of California, Los Angeles, campus. At one point some protesters sat down in the middle of Wilshire Boulevard, prompting police to divert traffic. The march eventually gained momentum and again headed back for West Hollywood -- a four mile hike, much of it during rush hour.

Earlier, some 2,000 people lined the sidewalk in front of the temple, located just outside of Century City, waving banners, talking to the press, and screaming "Shame on you" as church members looked on from behind the temple's gates.

Here's some video of what went on last night ... gives you a good feel for the amazing energy and passion out there. You can't help but wonder where all this amazing energy was in the months leading up to the vote but it's here now!

Here is a pretty good report from KNBC's Patrick Healy that aired last night:
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This photo shows how Lance Bass got caught amid protesters as he tried to drive down Sunset Boulevard. Lance wasn't marching but was obviously supportive.

More importantly, I got an update via email from Karen Ocamb this morning: who spoke with Steve Whitmore, the spokesperson for the LA County Sheriff's Department. He said there were between 3,000-5,000 at the rally in West Hollywood last night but "from our perspective, it was peaceful."

There were three arrests - all cited and released. One for drunk and disorderly, two for failure to disperse.

By contrast - this is from Officer April Harding, spokesperson for the LAPD: Four arrests - all booked an in jail.

One -obstructing an officer in the performance of his duties.
Two - Interfering with an officer in the performance of his duties...ie, trying to pull someone in police custody away from the police.
One - inciting a riot.

My pal Ted Johnson has also filed a first-hand report from the protests on his Wilshire & Washington blog. I'm just glad Ted didn't get himself arrested THIS TIME! (He was arrested at the Republican National Convention for basically doing nothing but his job)

Here is an excerpt:

The crowd was an energetic group of demonstrators largely in their 20s and early 30s, chanting "Equality Now" and "Yes, We Can," and cheering as many cars stuck in the gridlock honked their horns in support. There is what I would call controlled anger, but what is striking is that this group is a younger and more aggressive group than those who ran the No on 8 campaign. Many had never participated in anything like this before.

At Santa Monica and Robertson, the demonstrators stopped marching for about 15 minutes, shouting "Gay. Straight. Black White. Marriage is a civil right." They chanted at the corner without stop (my video below), interrupting only at one point to sing "The Star Spangled Banner," drowning out noise from nearby nightclubs.

Melissa Etheridge has written a blistering piece for the site The Daily Beast expressing her outrage over the passage of Proposition 8 by California voters. Here it is, in its entirety...

Okay. So Prop 8 passed. Alright, I get it. 51% of you think that I am a second class citizen. Alright then. So my wife, uh I mean, roommate? Girlfriend? Special lady friend? You are gonna have to help me here because I am not sure what to call her now. Anyways, she and I are not allowed the same right under the state constitution as any other citizen. Okay, so I am taking that to mean I do not have to pay my state taxes because I am not a full citizen. I mean that would just be wrong, to make someone pay taxes and not give them the same rights, sounds sort of like that taxation without representation thing from the history books.

Okay, cool I don't mean to get too personal here but there is a lot I can do with the extra half a million dollars that I will be keeping instead of handing it over to the state of California. Oh, and I am sure Ellen will be a little excited to keep her bazillion bucks that she pays in taxes too. Wow, come to think of it, there are quite a few of us fortunate gay folks that will be having some extra cash this year. What recession? We're gay! I am sure there will be a little box on the tax forms now single, married, divorced, gay, check here if you are gay, yeah, that's not so bad. Of course all of the waiters and hairdressers and UPS workers and gym teachers and such, they won't have to pay their taxes either.

Gay people are born everyday. You will never legislate that away.

Oh and too bad California, I know you were looking forward to the revenue from all of those extra marriages. I guess you will have to find some other way to get out of the budget trouble you are in.

...Really?

When did it become okay to legislate morality? I try to envision someone reading that legislation "eliminates the right" and then clicking yes. What goes through their mind? Was it the frightening commercial where the little girl comes home and says, "Hi mom, we learned about gays in class today" and then the mother gets that awful worried look and the scary music plays? Do they not know anyone who is gay? If they do, can they look them in the face and say "I believe you do not deserve the same rights as me"? Do they think that their children will never encounter a gay person? Do they think they will never have to explain the 20% of us who are gay and living and working side by side with all the citizens of California?

I got news for them, someday your child is going to come home and ask you what a gay person is. Gay people are born everyday. You will never legislate that away.
I know when I grew up gay was a bad word. Homo, lezzie, faggot, dyke. Ignorance and fear ruled the day. There were so many "thems" back then. The blacks, the poor ... you know, "them". Then there was the immigrants. "Them." Now the them is me.

I tell myself to take a breath, okay take another one, one of the thems made it to the top. Obama has been elected president. This crazy fearful insanity will end soon. This great state and this great country of ours will finally come to the understanding that there is no "them". We are one. We are united. What you do to someone else you do to yourself. That "judge not, lest ye yourself be judged" are truthful words and not Christian rhetoric.

Today the gay citizenry of this state will pick themselves up and dust themselves off and do what we have been doing for years. We will get back into it. We love this state, we love this country and we are not going to leave it. Even though we could be married in Mass. or Conn, Canada, Holland, Spain and a handful of other countries, this is our home. This is where we work and play and raise our families. We will not rest until we have the full rights of any other citizen. It is that simple, no fearful vote will ever stop us, that is not the American way.

Come to think of it, I should get a federal tax break too...

This has come in from the No on Prop. 8 leadership:

We had hoped never to have to write this email.

We stand together, knowing... our dawn will come.
Signed,

Dr. Delores A. Jacobs
CEO
Center Advocacy Project

Lorri L. Jean
CEO
L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center

Kate Kendell
Executive Director
National Center for Lesbian Rights

Geoff Kors
Executive Director
Equality California

Ellen DeGeneres (pictured with wife Portia de Rossi) says she is "saddened beyond belief" by the passage of Prop. 8. She has released a statement to the Associated Press that she: "like millions of Americans, felt like we had taken a giant step toward equality" by electing Barack Obama as president. But with the passage of Proposition 8, "we took a giant step away."

Ellen says she will "continue to speak out for equality for all of us."

It's inspiring to see people making their displeasure with the (likely) passage of Proposition 8 heard ... very loudly. I had an awards show commitment and could not be at tonight's rally in West Hollywood but friends called with some details and Ross von Metzke of The Advocate has posted some of what went on. Here is an excerpt:

No on 8 and Equality California called the rally to thank volunteers for their support and assure the community the fight would carry on.

But the crowd appeared angry and frustrated, with much of that anger directed at the Mormon church, which funded the bulk of the Yes on 8 campaign. Several attempts to get the crowd to block traffic on Santa Monica Blvd. failed as speakers including Lorri L. Jean and West Hollywood Mayor John Duran addressed the crowd.

When the speaking ended, the angry and motivated crowd marched out of central West Hollywood and up the hill to Sunset Blvd. A police escort led the crowd of some 2,000 people nearly a mile through the main drag of West Hollywood's Sunset Strip, the city's central hub for dining and nightlife.

With traffic backed up, people were honking, cheering and offering 'high-fives' of support to the crowd as it wove in between stopped cars. People poured onto restaurant balconies to take photos, some even leaving their meals to join the march.

Also, Scott Schmidt, who does the BoiFromTroy blog, is a leader in the Republicans against Prop. 8 effort and took the above photo wrote:

News accounts say there were 2-3000 marchers in all, who broke into four separate groups, going throughout Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Century City.

Maybe losing a right was what our community needed to get us out of the bars and into the streets, but I feel more energized than ever tonight...

Robin Tyler and Diane Olson, the first plaintiff couple named in the historic lawsuit that overturned California's ban on gay marriage and the first same-sex couple married in Los Angeles County in June,are leading the legal fight again.

The Advocate reports that the couple wasted no time filing a new lawsuit with California's supreme court Wednesday morning.

Though the fate of Prop. 8 -- which would constitutionally ban same-sex marriage in the state of California -- remains uncertain, with 3 million provisional and absentee ballots still uncounted, Yes on 8 claimed victory Wednesday morning. Tyler, Olsen, and their Hollywood power attorney Gloria Allred announced at a press conference at Allred's Wilshire Boulevard office that afternoon that they would file a new lawsuit challenging Prop. 8's constitutionality.

Here's the part I don't much like: Despite widespread finger-pointing blaming Prop 8.'s passage on the high turnout of black voters and the financial backing of the Mormon church, the couple, according to The Advocate, said that the No on 8 campaign -- specifically Los Angeles-based efforts -- dropped the ball, helping the measure to pass,

A post-mortem is certainly needed and I don't know enough to properly assess the performance of the No on 8 campaign. But to combat such factors as huge out-of-state money from the Mormon Church and misleading commercials preying on parents' fears was such a tall order. I think we need to stick together and not do this finger-pointing and not be dismissive of the hard work of so many people who cared so much about this.