TAMPA — About 300 people gathered at Joe Chillura Park for an impromptu gathering that evolved into a full-blown rally with catchy signs, chanting and speeches from local leaders.
"We're here to make sure that promises are kept," said R. Zeke Fread of PRIDE Tampa Bay. "They said it wouldn't affect existing domestic partnerships, including those of the elderly."
Tampa City Council member Linda Saul-Sena, GaYbor District Coalition president Carrie West and Hillsborough County Democratic Party vice chairwoman Pat Kemp were among the speakers addressing the crowd.
"It was really inspiring to hear from someone who has been married to their partner," said Liz Brown, 39, a social worker who hung around waving signs at motorists with friends after the event. "This is our chance to be more active instead of just observers."
As a child, Yasmin Jones was raised on stories of the civil rights movement and the racist legal structure that preceded it, when segregation was legal and many states outlawed interracial marriage.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 changed her family's life, she told a St. Petersburg crowd of more than 200 gay activists and supporters Saturday, but as a black lesbian, she still doesn't have the same rights as most Americans.
"They say we seek to redefine marriage, but I think they are redefining discrimination," Jones, 19, told the cheering crowd at Mirror Lake. "I don't know about you, but I am not going to let them cut and paste the word black for gay."
Waving American flags and signs that read "we the people means all of us" and "love is a civil right," supporters in St. Petersburg aimed to cast marriage inequality as the new civil rights movements as part of a nationwide protest Saturday against same-sex marriage bans.
Crowds gathered near public buildings in small communities and major cities including New York, San Francisco and Chicago to vent their frustrations, celebrate gay relationships and renew calls for change.
Planning for the nationwide protests was started by a Seattle blogger just days after a California vote that took away gay marriage rights that had been granted by the state's high court. Florida and Arizona overwhelmingly passed similar measures on Election Day.
The idea rapidly spread online.
In St. Petersburg, a mosaic of young, old, black, white, straight and gay chanted "we want equality" and "undo 2," a reference to the Florida constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
"Our fight for marriage equality is not about shutting down other people's religious beliefs," said activist Karen Doering. "Our families deserve the same rights, the same protections as every other family. If that's not a civil rights issue, then what the hell is?"
Dawn Willey and Donna Cochran were married in California in September, when it was still legal. Now, the St. Petersburg couple aren't sure they will even be sent their marriage certificate.
"My whole life I always thought what's the big deal? It's just a piece of paper," said Cochran of legal marriage. "But it felt different. It was moving. It was incredible, and our children were so happy for us."
Democrat George Gonzalez, a failed candidate for House District 54, lamented what he described as the religious right's invasion of government.
"This goes to the core of separating church and state, make no mistake about it," said Gonzalez, a heterosexual. "You cannot take away people's constitutional rights simply by having a vote."
The issue was one of the most controversial on the ballot November 4th.
Even though it passed with a 62 percent majority, some residents are still speaking out against it more than a week and a half since election day.
Activists are not shy about letting their feelings be known.
Dozens gathered for rallies all over the state Saturday. They wanted their words to be heard by both lawmakers and residents alike.
"Amendment two goes far beyond the gay and lesbian community. It can affect anybody who's not married and it can affect their ability to have protection from spousal abuse or getting their pensions," Tampa Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena said, while holding a bullhorn and speaking at the rally.
"I'm happy to support Tampa's gay and lesbian community saying that we're really upset about what happened on amendment two," Saul-Sena told us.
Saul-Sena and many others say the measure is discriminatory, including voter Scott Campbell.
Campbell said, "Marriage is for everyone who loves anybody. That's what love is all about it's about getting married. It's not just a privilege of the heterosexual. It's for everybody that wants to get married."
Those in favor of Amendment Two say it protects the sanctity of marriage and should not be dealt with lightly. Proponents tell us children need a mother and father as parents.
But, those attending the rally claim the amendment would deny the most basic benefits and rights for life-long partners, gay couples and even retirees in Florida who often have long-term relationships without being married.
Activist Rachel Vistein said, "I am absolutely astonished that an amendment like this can get passed when change has been the motto in this state."
In
They were part of national
day of rallies against anti-gay marriage amendments that passed in
Zeke Fread helped organize
and spread the word about
"There was so much anger in
the community, so much pain, so much hurt, we wanted to give the community an
outlet to come together," Fread said.
Gay
marriage was already illegal in
Lincoln Calcavecchi came to
the rally with his marriage license. He is an Army veteran who got married to
his partner of nine years in
"This tells me I am not
different from all the other couple who can get married, who can have that
recognition, purely by the way they were born," he
said.
Organizers said rallies were
planned in 86 cities across the country. In
Fread said the purpose of
the rallies was ultimately about more than venting
anger.
"We're going to need the anger to be turned into positive energy to do something about Amendment 2," he said. "If they want to keep the word marriage, they can keep it. Just give us the same 12 to 13 hundred rights that heterosexual couples that are married receive," he said.
Thousands of gays and lesbians and their supporters around the country – including more than 100 in downtown Tampa – rallied at 1:30 p.m. to protest bans to marriage and adoption approved by voters in four states.
In Florida, 62 percent of voters on Nov. 4 approved Amendment 2, an amendment to the state constitution that defines marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman and bans same-sex marriages. The measure needed 60 percent to pass.
Tampa City Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena told the crowd assembled at Joe Cillura Courthouse Square that "the tide is turning to say 'we're all in this together.'" She added: "I think it's time for the county to revisit the human rights ordinance." Attempts to add sexual orientation to the anti-discrimination ordinance have been made at least a couple of times since the County Commission removed sexual orientation from the law in 2000.
Nationally, gay marriage bans were approved by voters in California and Arizona; in Arkansas, voters approved a measure to prevent same-sex couples from adopting.
Crowds gathered near public buildings in small communities and major cities including New York, San Francisco and Chicago to vent their frustrations, celebrate gay relationships and renew calls for change.
"Civil marriages are a civil right, and we're going to keep fighting until we get the rights we deserve as American citizens," Karen Amico said in Philadelphia, holding up a sign reading "Don't Spread H8".
"We are the American family, we live next door to you, we teach your children, we take care of your elderly," said Heather Baker a special education teacher from Boston who addressed the crowd at Boston's City Hall Plaza. "We need equal rights across the country."
Massachusetts and Connecticut, which began same sex weddings this past week, are the only two states that allow gay marriage. All 30 states that have voted on gay marriage have enacted bans.
Protests following the vote on Proposition 8 in California, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman, have sometimes been angry and even violent, and demonstrators have targeted faiths that supported the ban, including the Mormon church.
However, representatives of Join the Impact, which organized Saturday's demonstrations, asked supporters to be respectful and refrain from attacking other groups during the rallies.
The mood in Boston was generally upbeat, with attendees dancing and signing to the song "Respect." Signs cast the fight for gay marriage as the new civil rights movement, including one that read "Gay is the new black."
But anger over the ban and its backers was evident at the protests.
One sign in Chicago read: "Catholic Fascists Stay Out of Politics."
"I just found out that my state doesn't really think I'm a person," said Rose Aplustill, 21, a Boston University student from Los Osos, Calif., who was one of thousands at the Boston rally.
Planning for the nationwide protests was started by a Seattle blogger, Amy Balliett, just days after the California vote, which took away gay marriage rights that had been granted by the state's high court.
The idea rapidly spread online and Join the Impact predicted that Saturday's protests would involve tens of thousands of people in hundreds of communities.
In North Dakota, where voters in 2004 overwhelmingly approved a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, low-key protests were held Saturday in Grand Forks and Fargo, where people lined a bridge carrying signs and flags.
"It's been very peaceful," said Josh Boschee, who helped organize the Fargo protest.
In Chicago, Keith Smith, 42, a postal worker, and his partner, Terry Romo, 34, a Wal-Mart store manager, had photos of their wedding ceremony which they held even though gay marriage is not legal in Illinois.
"We're not going to wait for no law," Smith said. "But time's going to be on our side and it's going to change."
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