Hundreds locally march to protest passage of Proposition 8 (with photo gallery)

Shawn Doherty  —  11/16/2008 2:47 pm

Hundreds of  marchers young and old, black and white, gay and straight, braved chilly winds to gather at the steps of the Capitol Saturday to protest the passage of Proposition 8, a California measure that bans same-sex marriages and civil unions.

Dressed in colorful costumes, waving homemade signs and chanting,  "2, 4, 6, 8, no more H8!" the protesters vowed that the election day defeat would launch a renewed push for gay rights, inspired in part by the historic presidency of Barack Obama.

They pointed out that not long ago, blacks were holding similar marches and said that they, too, had a dream.

"We're here so one day gay folks can marry and be just as miserable as straight folks," said Kaet Hall, who flaunted a giant sign that said "HOMOO" with a picture of a cow.

Cities across the state and around the country Saturday held similar rallies -- many rapidly organized on the Internet through social networking sites such as Facebook -- in a reaction to the news from California. 
In Madison, organizers rejoiced at the turnout. Timothy Schlichting ran up and down the parade, counting 417 participants. "It's so exciting I want to cry," he said.

There were all kinds of couples.

"We are here to express our distaste and amazement at what happened in California on election night," said Patrick Heck, a UW-Madison researcher who was marching with his mate of eight years, Tom Armbrecht, a professor of French literature.

Nearby, married couple Jess and Mike Haven were dressed in rainbow clothes, tights, wigs, and veils.

"Every couple should have the rights we have," Jess said.

"It's a matter of fairness," said Kim Fisher, who was at the parade with her 3-year-old daughter Minna and Minna's other mom.

The mood at the rally was jubilant and defiant. Marchers danced, cheered and whistled their way up State Street, past honking cars, to the Capitol. Gusty winds nearly toppled over two giant marchers dressed up as the Statue of Liberty and Lady Justice. "Liberty and justice for all!" they shouted.

The ballot measure in California reversed a ruling made only months earlier by the California Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage. It won by a narrow margin, in part thanks to a last-minute infusion of funding from the Mormon Church.

Marchers said it was a kick in the stomach. "So it's still OK to hate us," said Sarah Korpi, a UW-Madison graduate student who had flown to California to marry her partner only months ago. "Everybody was celebrating the election of Barack Obama and change, but we felt so left out."

While she was on State Street election night with thousands of others cheering Obama, event organizer Jean Wennlund was also monitoring the news from California on her cell phone.

"It was devastating to be told that our families are not equal," said Wennlund, 23, who is also the state field director for Fair Wisconsin. "To realize that people in this country are still not willing to respect people's rights to have their love recognized."

What is at stake, advocates say, is not just love, but health insurance benefits, legal protections of parental rights and the ability to comfort loved ones during hospitalization. Without legal recognition of her seven-year relationship with her partner, Kathryn Swartz, Hollis Rudiger was recently forced to formally relinquish her 3-week-old baby son to a legal guardian for 20 minutes so that she and her partner could then, together, legally adopt him.  That way their child would be covered by Swartz's health care plan, and both women would  be considered legal parents.

Many marchers reported having to jump through similar legal hoops, and not always with a happy ending.  Last year doctors in a Green Bay hospital gave event organizer Schlichting, a Madison loan officer, medicine he was allergic to. They refused to listen to his partner's warnings or even to allow him to be near Schlichting in the emergency room.

"A lot of people don't realize the struggles we go through," said Timothy, 27, whose wedding in San Diego next summer was canceled after Proposition 8 passed. "This is a civil rights issue. We don't want to be treated as second class citizens anymore."

Shawn Doherty  —  11/16/2008 2:47 pm