Long Beach Rally Against Prop 8 Bigotry Protesters against Prop. 8 gather at the intersection of Broadway and Alamitos Avenue in Long Beach on Friday night. The crowd marched about three miles to denounce the passage Tuesday of the same-sex marriage ban.
LONG BEACH - What started as a cell phone text message <http://www.presstelegram.com/ci_10932201#> to rally support against Proposition 8 turned into a nearly 2,000-person peaceful march Friday night. About an hour after the march ended, at least five people were detained in handcuffs and put in a bus. They were among some 100 stragglers who returned to the start of the route and blocked a street, drawing police in riot gear. The confrontation ended about 10:45 p.m. Police Sgt. David Marander said at least three people were arrested during the march for inciting a riot and failing to stay on a designated route. Later, 12 people, including the five earlier detainees, were arrested at Broadway and Redondo for impeding traffic, refusing to leave the intersection and inciting others to riot. Some 500 same sex-marriage supporters gathered about 7 p.m. on four corners at Redondo Avenue and Broadway before heading west on Broadway toward downtown. Chanting "equal rights" and "no on 8," gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and other opponents of the Prop. 8 ban on same-sex marriages approved by voters Tuesday marched across the traditionally gay business <http://www.presstelegram.com/ci_10932201#> district of Long Beach. They carried hundreds of signs, including the "No on Prop. 8" placard of the failed campaign to keep voters from passing the state constitutional amendment. They also waved rainbow and American flags, and chanted as the march stretched out for blocks. As the crowd grew, police moved marchers to the westbound lanes of Broadway and controlled traffic along the route, while many business owners <http://www.presstelegram.com/ci_10932201#> and residents cheered and applauded their support. The makeup of the marchers crossed racial, age and ethnic lines, but it was largely a young and energetic crowd, including 18-year-old Long Beach residents and girlfriends Kacie Hawkins and Victoria McNary. "Even though we're young, it's our future," Hawkins said. "We want to get married, we want to have the same rights as everybody else." With them was McNary's brother Raymond, 9, who didn't seem to understand why Prop. 8 supporters had been so afraid about children learning about gay marriage. "If they're happy, I'm happy," Raymond said of his sister and her girlfriend. Watching intently from the sidewalk by Bixby Park, Jim James, a gay Long Beach resident in his 60s, was clearly moved by the crowd. "The young people today are very different," said James, who in June married his partner of 26 years. "They're not going to take what people 20 or 30 years ago took. They are not like the generation before." Tom Crowe, the 34-year-old Long Beach resident who sent out the first text message to all of his friends Thursday afternoon with the idea of marching together, said he was "in awe" at the crowds and that he couldn't have imagined such a turnout "in my wildest dreams." "Every civil rights issue is won on the streets, and this one is At the marchers' destination, Alamitos Avenue and Broadway, Prop. 8 supporters favoring the marriage ban gathered to counter the marchers. Police relegated the Prop. 8 supporters to one side of the street as protesters marched. Some Prop. 8 supporters of the ban on gay marriage yelled to marchers: "Adam and Eve, not Steve," "No means no," and "Too late." Jamie Mundy, who described himself as a nondenominational minister, said, "The Bible states it all. God didn't make you that way. It's the law and it's against the Bible. I don't want it to be taught in my school <http://www.presstelegram.com/ci_10932201#> . And I certainly don't need it to be in the streets." Although the protest was supposed to end at Alamitos with some speeches, many in the crowd continued down Broadway, toward downtown. The group turned south on Long Beach Boulevard and east on First Street, circling back toward Broadway and Alamitos. Narrowly passed by voters Tuesday, Prop. 8 overturns a May tate Supreme Court decision that makes it unconstitutional to limit the definition of marriage to a union between a man and a woman. However, at least three petitions have already been filed with the state Supreme Court challenging the measure. "Everyone is hurting and don't know what to do," said Kimberlee Woods, executive director of The Gay and Lesbian Center of Long Beach. "The overwhelming response is not surprising. People are tired of being relegated to the back of the bus." Long Beach's rally comes after a protest Wednesday night and two Thursday marches in Los Angeles. Long Beach police later estimated the crowd at 1,800 to 2,000. ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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