GAY IE

GAY IE ISSUES:
Rally in Rancho Cucamonga
protests court's Prop 8 decision

Inland Empire gays, lesbians and their allies raised their voices Tuesday night at a rally in Rancho Cucamonga to protest the California Supreme Court ruling upholding Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage.

The crowd estimated at 400 or more stood on the four corners of Foothill and Day Creek Boulevard, one of the busiest intersections in the area near the Victoria Gardens shopping center.

“What do we want?”
“Equal rights”
“When do we want them?”
“Now”

The chant was one of several that went up from the group as they stood waving signs at passing vehicles and responding to honking horns. The crowd included many young people, some older folks, a few children and even some dogs.

One child carried a homemade sign that read “My Moms said ‘I Do.’”

The crowd was littered with red and blue signs, with the slogan “I DO support freedom to marry,” provided by the rally’s sponsors, Equality Inland Empire and Equality California. Other people carried the rainbow flag and there was at least one American flag.

The rally was one of many Day of Decision events across the state, and elsewhere in the nation, protesting the court’s decision released earlier in the day.

Protesters walked across the multiple-lane intersection to occupy all four corners of the commercial intersection.

Two Proposition 8 supporters waved signs as they walked near the crowd.

Speakers included representatives of Riverside PFLAG and a Redlands clergywoman, who expressed their sadness about the decision and their hope for the future.

But the night belonged to the protesters, who brought out electric candles and glow sticks as darkness fell and continued their chants.

“Gay, straight,
black, white
marriage is
a civil right.”