Orlando Sentinel

'National Day of Protest' Includes Orlando, Tampa, 84 Other Cities

By Jeff Kunerth | Sentinel Staff Writer

Local gay activists plan to take part in a "National Day of Protest" today over the passage of constitutional amendments that banned same-sex marriage in Florida, California and Arizona.

The protest will take place at 1:30 p.m. on the steps of Orlando City Hall. Organizers say demonstrations are planned for 86 cities nationwide. Other cities in Florida include Miami, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Tallahassee and Jacksonville.

"The purpose is to stand in solidarity with the people in California and also to grieve our loss on Amendment 2, and look forward to what we can do in the future," said Jennifer Foster, spokeswoman for the Human Rights Campaign, which is organizing the protest.

John Stemberger, the Orlando attorney who organized support for Amendment 2 in Florida, dismissed the protests as meaningless acts of intimidation.

"They've lost. There is nothing they can do about it. It's a protest without meaning," Stemberger said. "They are trying to intimidate people and create a hostile environment."

Sixty-two percent of Florida voters passed Amendment 2 on Nov. 4, exceeding the 60 percent required for passage. The amendment states that "no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."

In Arizona, 56 percent approved Proposition 102, and in California, 52 percent of voters favored Proposition 8. Thirty states now ban same-sex marriage in their state constitutions.

Jeff Kunerth can be reached at jkunerth@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5392.

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