Prop. 8: Protest march expected to jam streets in Hollywood, West Hollywood tonight

Motorists should expect some delays driving through the Hollywood/West Hollywood area this evening because of a planned Proposition 8-related protest. Details from Navigate Hollywood:

A rally and march from West Hollywood to Hollywood and then back to West Hollywood is planned to start at approximately 7 p.m. this evening. The march will start at the corner of Santa Monica & San Vicente Boulevards in West Hollywood. Participants are then expected to make their way to and through Hollywood, and gather near the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard & Highland Avenue at approximately 9:30 p.m., before making their way back to West Hollywood. Expect traffic impacts and delays this evening.

Comments

[Sparky]

Great idea -- the best way to win over voters who are undecided about a controversial moral and legal issue is to create a traffic jam.

[Steph]

This website gives more specifics:

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2009/05/protest_roundup.php#reader_comments

[VJ]

My rights or OUR rights today, your rights tomorrow-Remember, when you revoke mine I get to do the same to you tomorrow! Most Americans are not educated enough about legal issues and our Constitutional framework, as an American I uphold ALL of the rights that we have as citizens. Women still do not have equal rights to men, Obama just passed equal pay for women giving them a small handout-how nice, yet there are many women who vote to strip gay, lesbian, transgendered people of equal rights. Additionally, to all of the straight puritanical people that are so consumed with hate that they cannot think clearly, if you are so adamant about excluding gays, lesbians, transgendered people then consider the following: Stop eating in restaurants-we make your food, stop seeing doctors-we are physician's-that would be me, stop flying on planes-we are your pilots, take your children from school-we are teachers, stop buying clothes, cars any and all durable goods-we manufacture your household items. Do you get the picture? And yes, there are even the so-called straight men that have the trophy wife and children secretly leading a double life with a male partner or partners. Oh, and if you want to revoke our rights be sure to pick up the tab-PAY OUR TAXES! See, you can't be hypocrites, if you want to discriminate you must be willing to accept the trade-off. It is like saying you want peace but people are not willing to make a sacrifice for peace, only lip service for peace. GOT IT?! Stop utilizing the legal and judicial system or branch of our government as we are attorney's and judges. In an issue of the ADVOCATE the business magazine of choice for Gays & Lesbians, in the year 2000, there was an article dedicated to the gay and lesbian community that reflected our income level and participation in society, we contributed more than double to the economy in travel-i.e. flying, taking cruises, hotels, restaurants etc. so much so that United Airlines refused to revoke an add to market to our community in the same publication at the behest of the Southern Baptist Churches. Almost slipped my mind-we make your Disney movies, movies period, your fashionable clothes you wear were designed almost exclusively by gay men and lesbians from around the world. In 2005 Spain began allowing same-sex marriages-FULLY to its citizens and declined to cooperate with President Bush's request to deny those marriages. SPAIN-the most catholic nation on the planet next to Italy!! Even Cuba passed same-sex civil unions in 2007-GO FIGURE-CUBA!!
The judicial branch cannot by law, abridge the rights of the California citizens as defined under the California Constitution-Declaration of Rights-Section 1. Why? Because it is unconstitutional for the legislature, judicial branch of government as well as the people to vote on the rights of the equal protection clause of the State Constitution. So, there should not be any further debate however, our government is doing what any other fascist government does when it is paid off and participating in corruption. Please note, just last year California Supreme court Justice Joyce L. Kennard in May of 2008 upheld the California Constitutional protections and voted to allow same-sex marriages to take place, now her recent memory must have failed her because she has gone in the opposite direction. Hmmmm....could it be say money or a position of power issue that has been threatened here? Please refer to the California Constitution online by searching GOOGLE and read for yourselves, educate yourselves. There are certain groups or individuals with views of which I do not agree however, we must allow them the freedom and legal protections so that they can choose to worship, participate etc. The court did not have a right to allow a ballot to send Prop 8 to the polls-it is ILLEGAL to vote on citizen rights.

[Brandy]

Stop it, Sparky. People are angry- let them be angry.

[frank]

Sparky, pardon me for saying so, but you're an idiot.

[John]

I'm all in favor of civil unions for everyone. You want a civil union with yourself and your cocker spaniel, fine. I don't care, but just do not undo four thousand years of civil law and legalize a marriage ceremony between anything but a man and a woman.

Even the most homosexually-oriented society the world has ever seen, ancient Greece, did not change the meaning of marriage or allow the same between two men.

You lost. Get over it. Get rid of your hatred for the 98% of society that does not share your sexual inclinations and views and get on with your lives.

You can disrupt traffic and alienate the voters. You can also hold your breath until you turn blue, fine. You can even hang effigies of Sarah Palin, I don't care, but just don't think for one minute that you call a union between two people of the same gender, marriage.

God does not approve -- neither does most of society. You just cannot call an aberration a "right" and impose it upon the world.

[TheScroogeReport]

Villaraigosa: 'This is a dark day in California'

http://www.examiner.com/x-7814-LA-Church--State-Examiner~y2009m5d26-Villaraigosa-This-is-a-dark-day-in-California

[Collis Huntington]

In the near future young people will be shocked to learn that in the past same sex couples were denied the right to marry.

[Es Sofiy]

Well, I'm certainly glad that this site is open to all viewpoints. I mean c'mon guys, a 500 (or so) word essay from VJ?
I don't have enough time to even address every point, but then again it's only opinion-not fact. Oh, other than the fact that all kinds of people work in all kinds of jobs. Let's start with one...anyone who disagrees with gay marriage is puritanical, hateful, can't think clearly--uh huh, right, yeah that must be it! This is a democracy, and as angry as it may make some gay people most Californians see this differently from a pure discrimination issue-otherwise prop 8 would have been defeated. Scientists are still divided over whether people are born-straight or gay. If a person was born as a homosexual, then one could argue on the basis of civil rights, but this cannot be proven, and the public doubts it. Thus-the civil rights arguement is fraught with misunderstanding. People are not hateful, and after gays, and the government is not corrupt.

[Gerry]

Buzz off, Brandy! The spoiled brats have no right to interfere with traffic because they didn't get their way

[jazz]

how many mindless meandering meet-ups must we make? haven't we learned from the last time when we looked like disorganized knee-jerk mobs? sigh.

[ruby]

I participated in many of the marches in Nov. It was a way to do something instead of sitting and feeling sad and angry in my apt by myself. It allowed me to gather with like minded folks and use my voice. As someone who lived in a closet for far too many years, it was a great experience. One that sadly, I'll be repeating tonight and likely more in the near future.
Does it tie up traffic? Yes. Does it impact our supporters? Yes. But so did the marathon. It's part of the price we all pay to live together. I yield for you and you yield for me.
It also generates news coverage. If we didn't show up and rally, there wouldn't be as much coverage.
To those of you who are stuck in traffic and need to pee, I sympathize. But I bet you peed on your wedding day. I don't get to have one of those.

[camis]

sparky - study the history of all civil rights movements.
if justice cannot be achieved through peaceful legal means, people will and should take to the streets. i'm not gay but i know a human rights issue when i see one. if you get stuck in traffic, get out of your car and join in.

[ma]

Cry Babies you Gays, get over it and follow the law. This country does not support gay rights and your own state voted one man to one woman. SO GET OVER IT THE SPILLED MILK

[Lamotte]

The poster seem to suggest in his lengthy comment that gay people provide most of the goods and sevices to the public. What the poster fail to understand is that the homosexual community is providing a very small amount of goods and services and heterosexuals make up a large majority of people who are providing most of the goods and services to the general public. I intend to continue to support the businesses of the majority.

[ma]

Gays are nothing but cry babies crying over spilled milk, get over it and follow the law of one man and one woman. so easy to follow.

[Randy Folds]

Keeping people away from their homes and families is not going to make any friends or negatively affect the opposition. I am all for same-sex marriage. I am not for shooting myself in the foot.

[CraigM]

A dark day indeed for California.

[grapes]

John:

The only problem with your argument is that divorce is LEGAL in California. The bible and the history of world civilizations have said clearly that two people must be united for life through marriage. Why then don't we vote to make divorce ILLEGAL-- as you seem to assert world history should dictate tomorrow?

[Furious]

To John: THE PEOPLE shouldn't get to vote on my rights - what I can and can't do or what rights I should have. Try being a little compassionate and thin about what you're saying.

[asiu]

There's a student-led march from UCLA to Westwood and Wilshire at 4pm as well.

[SF]

Ma, why don't you come out to the march tonight and see for yourself the hurt that comes from being a minority that is hated for the way we were made. It's easy to hide behind the anonymity of a blog post and call us "cry babies," but what do you think that really does to further respectful and peaceful discourse? I'm sure I'll get some snarky comment back from you, but maybe some day you'll regret posting something that does nothing but make your side (which voted by a very narrow margin) look stupid.

[Annoyed]

I have gay friends and support their rights.
BUT, Prop 8 was democratically put to a vote and lost. It went before the State Supreme Court and was upheld (lost again). It's time to move on. You don't keep to pouting and throwing a tantrum until you get your way. That only works for 6 y.o. That's not how democracy works. If you were smart enough to figure "the right to marry" wasn't going to last and did get married in the time provided, good for you. You should be allowed to stay married. If you procrastinated and didn't get married, that's no one's fault but yours, not the voters.

[CMH]

"Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice." -- MLK, 1967. To which I would add, sometimes you have to give it a little push. Time is on the side of justice -- young people overwhelmingly support full equality, and gay marriage is coming.

[TM]

VJ is a perfect example of the way the gay rights people mislead honest Americans. What a string of inaccuracies and outright lies! You need to get out of the liberal closed circle you live in and experience real America - get an open mind!

[NetPlay525]

I sure hope tonight's rallies do not turn into another organized prayer vigil. Every rally run by EQCA, L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, HRC et al are featuring a parade of gay friendly religious leaders, prayers and encouragement to GLBT people to try and encourage their churches to join us. This is STUPID. It is up to US to remind everyone that this is a civil rights issue and we intend to respect the Separation of Church and State. I want equal LEGAL rights. I don't think we should focus on changing churches. We drive people further away from us and from considering our rights when their religions are threatened.

We've lost this battle because the GLBT leadership in California have hidden gay people from their ads (esp. gay men), have turned this into a religious dispute, continue to support and cheer for the homophobic Democratic Party (including Obama, Feinstein and Boxer who are not our friends and have not supported us and have no intention of doing so) and refuse to get angry and organize real boycotts, demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience that traditionally force the issues of civil rights to be considered seriously by our government.

[Michael]

Let's get to the facts: fact #1: you're right to protest doesn't trump my right to get where I want to go. You're rights aren't superior nor inferior to mine and vice vesa. Hold a peacful protest, don't impinge on the rights of others, and all is good. Fact #2 and most importantly: the rulting today had absolutely nothing to do with gay marriage; the question before the Court was simply about the right of the people to amend the CA Constitution. That right was upheld. The case could've been about anything - same legal facts, different issue, and it would've been upheld. Before everyone gets into a tizzy about media spun hype, review the facts. It doesn't matter anyway - the federal courts will rule eventually, now that a federal lawsuit will be filed tomorrow. In the grand scheme, that's a better potential outcome for those who support gay marriage since if gay marriage holds, it'll be the law of the land (once the US Supremes rule on it, and if they rule that way).

[Fidel Cigar]

Instead of trying to desecrate a basic human concept and institution like traditional marriage, why can't gays--so many of whom claim to be members of the "creative class"--invent their very own form of civil union. Call it anything they like--it just won't be "marriage."

[PDuff]

What's ironic is the quoting of "4,000 years of recorded history" against 150,000 years human beings have been on the Earth (assuming of course, you believe in carbon dating and DNA sequencing).

In other words, most opponents of Prop. 8 think that their PERSONAL OPINION, which is partly based on an UNPROVABLE FAIRY TALE (i.e., the Bible) and partly based on a period of time that represents less than 3% of the time human beings have been on the planet, has enough merit to become law simply because there are enough other people out there who think the same way.

Sound ok to you? Great, then why not bring black slavery? Prevent women from driving and voting? Because that was 'tradition' (and still is) in other parts of the world.

Being against Prop. 8 may not make you a homophobe, but it almost certainly makes you an idiot. Now go get back in your truck and drive to church to sing about Jesus because may he'll save you from your small, crappy and pointless little life.

[LW]

People like John and others who want to take a bully attitude toward gay people should stop & think for 2 seconds - how would YOU feel if your rights were taken away from you, and you were suddenly relegated to 2nd class citizen status? Add to that - what if (like the GLBT community) you were EXPECTED to continue paying the same amount in state taxes to support all the civil programs that you can't even take part in?

John - your "get over it" attitude is childish, ignorant, rude and egotistical. You are a jerk, and I pray to God that you ARE straight, because they deserve small-minded simpletons like you. Someday, this WILL pass in California. Then you will get the opportunity to see the view from the other side of the fence. The only difference is that we probably won't rub your stubble-covered face in it aftewards.

[TomTallis]

John: Who gives a crap WHAT your Bible says? I sure don't.

[LW]

Wow, John. You must be quite the man-about-town if you've got God sitting there next to you telling you he doesn't approve of gay marriage. You really hang with some high rollers, don'tcha? Narcissistic, mis-informed poser...

[Ed]

It's funny how some are saying "the voters have spoken." Well, if the voters had spoken in the deep South in the 1950s, then there'd still be segregation there. Sometimes, the Supreme Court has to step in. Clearly, this case is for the Federal Supreme Court, because our own California Supreme Court is basically reneging on something they agreed was a constitutional civil right a year ago.

[LW]

Gay people are human beings too. We are citizens, and we have rights. Taking our rights away from us will not do you any favors in the future, or make your lives any better. What you have done is wrong and fascist. You know it in your heart of hearts and you know that someday you will be called to account for your treatment of your fellow human beings.

[Maxine]

Yes, where were all the protests when two gay men in West Hollywood put Sarah Palin in a noose ???

[Drew]

Several people we know were trapped in their homes for several hours this past Sunday due to street closures for the LA Marathon.

So a little bit of traffic inconvenience shouldn't be a problem for anyone today, either.

[RP]

other debates aside, the gay rights 'movement' is weak. so very reactive. take control, don't wait for the mainstream and the courts to make decisions... and THEN you protest. Very weak.

[RM]

Yet another reason to leave California... Fiscally undisciplined and morally bankrupt. I live in equality now and would never go back to second class status. Don't give up the fight! Most of us know how history will judge this decision...

[MEL]

If you don't want to get in traffic then choose another route/way, you self center/egoist discriminating people.

[MEL]

If you don't want to get in traffic then choose another route/way, you self center/egoist discriminating people.

[Rigs]

this dumb march is making my pizza late.

[GILBERT NAVARRETE]

THE PROTEST WAS THE BEST WAY TO GET EVERYONES VOICES HEARD,,,IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO....AND IT WILL NOT STOP TILL WERE ALL EQUAL

[B]

Thanks for the traffic! This is second time... and trust me. there are lot of undecided voters who are upset about this protest. Can't you people do this on weekend like LA marathon????