Passing Proposition 8 in California has met with unprecedented lobbying and petitioning. Last night, thousands of people protested against the ban on gay marriages that was passed 52.5% to 47.5%. The passing of the law goes against a Supreme Court ruling from May, when the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees the right to marriage for same-sex couples.

The groups of protesters want to prevent the law from going into effect, no matter what it takes. The protesters are of the opinion that such a radical initiative should at least be put through state legislature. The three groups, namely the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights have all said that the ballot initiative is an attack on the constitution’s “equality for everyone” provision. These groups have filed charges on behalf of Equality California but also on behalf of six same-sex couples who were planning to get married. Their plans were hindered by the passing of Proposition 8, and the emotional distress that followed is hard to imagine. The groups have also reminded everyone that there have already been 18,000 same-sex marriages finalized in California so far.

The protesters took it to the streets immediately after it was passed. Only a couple of protesters were taken into custody for disturbing the peace, albeit one of the protesters was beaten quite badly by the authorities. The reason for his violent arrest are still undisclosed.

Almost 1,000 protesters had a half-hour sit-in on Sunset Boulevard, outside of CNN. The steps outside the San Francisco City Hall were also taken over by hundreds of protesters. The chanted slogan was “We all deserve freedom to marry”, a motto that could also be seen on hundreds of signs.

Ellen DeGeneres, actress, talk show host and comedian, expressed her deep disappointment to the passing of Proposition 8. DeGeneres married actress Portia de Rossi just this August. She also stated that the step forward made by electing Barack Obama was nullified by the passing of Proposition 8.