About 175 people were arrested Tuesday
while protesting against the California Supreme Court's ruling that
upholds the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the state's
controversial gay marriage ban, the AFP reported.
The San Francisco Chronicle
tweeted additional details live from outside the court's San
Francisco building where a large crowd had gathered to protest the
decision.
As word spread of the court's 6 to 1
decision in favor of Proposition 8 around 10AM, protesters began
chanting “Shame on you, shame on you,” then moved to block
traffic at the intersection of Grove and Van Ness with a sit-in.
Gay activists greatly outnumbered
anti-gay forces. One gay marriage opponent carried a sign that read
“Gay = Pervert.”
“We're sad and upset,” said Randy
Nadeau, 43, who married William Lawson, 47, in California before the
gay marriage window vanished.
Several reports indicated that the
protesters negotiated with police to begin arrests at noon so
television crews could broadcast the arrests live. The first to be
arrested was an Episcopal priest. A male couple who staged a kiss-in
were arrested without incident as the crowd cheered them on.
Everyone arrested was released on the
scene, Sergeant Lyn Tomioka told the news agency.
Civil disobedience continued peacefully
as protesters marched their way through the streets of San Francisco.
In the Castro, the gay hub of the city, over 2,000 people gathered
near Market and Castro to demonstrate.
In Los Angeles, about 100 people staged
a sit-in at an intersection near the University of California during
rush hour.
Actress Drew Barrymore addressed a
crowd of protesters that gathered for a rally in West Hollywood.
“Children need families, people need
to love and we need to move forward, not backward,” Barrymore said.
“What defines a family? We do!”
Proposition 8 effectively overruled the
Supreme Court's 4 to 3 ruling that legalized gay marriage in May of
2008. The court allowed 18,000 gay and lesbian marriages performed
during the June-to-November “summer of love” to stand.