Against a backdrop of an American flag with rainbow-colored stripes, protesters sang, prayed, waved American flags and listened to about a dozen speakers.

They included the mother of a gay man, Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan, who is gay, and a gay woman who was married in California before same-sex unions were voted out Nov. 4.

"We remain married in our minds and certainly in our hearts," said Stephanie Jones of Clermont, who married her partner, Diana Iwanski. "They can change the law, but it's impossible to change our hearts."

The protest, organized by the Human Rights Campaign's Orlando/Central Florida Steering Committee, was one of dozens planned for Saturday nationwide and sponsored by JoinTheImpact.com. Protests were in Boston, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, Los Angeles and even Grand Forks and Fargo, N.D.

"It was very inspiring," said Stephen O'Connell, 48, of Winter Park. "This is a new cause, and we're going to fight it -- and education is going to do that."

The two-hour event, which drew just two obvious anti-gay-marriage protesters, inspired approving honks from passing cars.

Participants carried signs that read, "I love my gay son! Someday I'll love my gay son-in-law," "Now, let's vote on your marriage," and "You don't have to be gay to believe in equal rights."

Samantha Love, 19, agrees with the message of equality. Love, of Oviedo, who is not gay, supports the cause.

"It's really about love, and I don't see how anyone couldn't want that for anyone else," the Daytona State College student said.

Several speakers and listeners cited President-elect Barack Obama's victory as a sign that the country is changing in ways that will benefit gays.

"What do we want?" one of the speakers asked.

"Equality!" came the answer.

"When do we want it?"

"Now!"

Protesters drew parallels between the struggle for racial equality and the struggle for gay rights, quoting the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and singing the civil-rights anthem, "We shall overcome."

"We have a black president," said Meghan Monroe, 18, of Winter Springs, a Seminole Community College student who attended the protest with Love. "Anything can happen now. And anything should."

Across the street, two teenagers held pro-Amendment 2 signs and were heckled, yelled at and mocked. Sixty-two percent of voters approved the amendment, which needed a 60 percent margin to pass. Both teens said religion strongly influenced their views.

"We voted yes and it passed," said Christine Kreutzer, 18, an Orlando high-school student. "I think that speaks for itself."

Jason Lambert of the Human Rights Campaign disagreed.

"It is a short-term win, and they are fighting the tide of human history," Lambert told the crowd.

"Time is on our side, and our rights will not be denied."

Pedro Conceicao, 17, a University of Central Florida student, said he attended the protest to make a long-term contribution to the cause, much as AIDS protesters in the 1980s called attention to the scourge that swept through the gay community and affected other groups, too.

"We want to be part of history," Conceicao said.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Susan Jacobson can be reached at sjacobson@orlandosentinel.com or 407-540-5981.