Istvan
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Ok, I know this is super, super, super late news. But, bear with me cuz I just got over a pretty traumatic finals season. And I’m sorry I didn’t really participate in the Blogathon…I was celebrating by not jumping in front of a bus at the price of meds.
Right.
On Saturday, November 15th, all across the nation people rallied behind the gay marriage issue and the recent passage of Proposition 8 to demand equal rights for GLBT citizens. In Ohio there were protests in most major cities and on college campuses throughout.
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In Columbus, over 500 braved the 40-degree weather and the rain to voice their opinions, to make their presence known, and to push the issue of marriage. I feel that many more people would have taken time out of their schedules to protest if it weren’t for the weather. However, it was very inspiring to see that so many people: friends, distant acquaintances, and strangers did stay outside and shout and wave their signs and try to make a difference until they couldn’t feel their hands or their feet. There was no organized anti-protest as well, which is usually a source for contention and violence in other Columbus demonstrations that I have been to. I couldn’t hear the speaker well because of the layout of the City Hall, and my friends and I agreed that it wasn’t much of a protest if everyone’s back was to the street and all you saw were umbrellas, so we stood on the sidewalk holding our signs and getting passer-bys and drivers to recognize why there were so many people at city hall. The reaction was energizing; once people read signs such as (There is nothing wrong with love; Love not H8; Can I vote on your marriage?; and Keep your laws off my crotch, Bro) they started honking in support. People would drive around again to read more signs, give us a thumbs up, pump a fist at us, or just smile. There were a few negative reactions, but I feel we reached a lot of allies and made our presence known. We haven’t accomplished anything by freezing our buns off, but we now know that we can get 500 people in Columbus together in less than a week, we can activate straight allies and we know that people care about equality and justice.
AFY_Joe
| 12/18/08 11:33 AM
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