The passing of Proposition 8 in California has caused massive uproar among Californians. Some of the most vocal cities on the matter were San Francisco, Palm Springs and Long Beach.
After the protests on Wednesday and Thursday, which involved thousands of irate protesters, another series of demonstrations took place. San Francisco was again the scene of probably the largest demonstration, which involved a march down Market Street of approximately 2,000 people. Their displeasure with the passing of Proposition 8 is that it counters the principle of the separation of church and state.
“Traditional marriage” in Christianity, for example, is traditionally between a man and a woman – and it has become the “traditional marriage” almost everywhere in the world, except for some Arab countries where polygamy is legal for men. One of the protesters, Eric Rogers, described the passing of Proposition 8 as against his belief that “politics and religion should be completely separate. This has been, actually, one of those lines that have been blurred by that.” Another protester said that the passing of the legislation feels to her like “someone not wanting us to live in love and respect.” To support their ideas, the protesters carried several signs, one of which read “Hate is not hot”.
The front steps of the Palm Springs City Hall were overrun with hundreds of protesters who chanted, among others “Tax the Church” and “Civil Rights”. There were no arrests registered at the end of the day.
Even in Utah, a state which is home to the Mormons, avid supporters of traditional marriage, thousands of demonstrators protested against the principles of Proposition 8, but also against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which apparently donated large sums of money to the supporters of Proposition 8 and their campaign.
There has been a lawsuit filed against the passing of Proposition 8 and its principles. Firstly, the law was supposed to go through at least state legislature and secondly, Proposition 8 is a violation of the fundamental rights, the protesters maintain in their lawsuit.