'People are sick and tired of being second-class citizens'
SEATTLE -- Scores of people rallied in downtown Seattle to protest a California Supreme Court ruling that upheld that state's gay marriage ban.
Joe Mirabella helped organized the Tuesday evening rally at Westlake Center in Seattle. Mirabelle said he believes legalization of same-sex marriage is inevitable, but some of those gathered said they were prepared to be let down.
"We were disappointed, but also not totally surprised. For us it's conclusion of a disappointment that started last November," said Connie Watts.
Still, the premonitions didn't stop the hundreds of protesters from rallying and even participating in an impromptu from downtown Seattel to the city's Capitol Hill neighborhood.
"The spontaneous march that happened today out of the rally spoke to what gay folks, queer folks are feeling," said Chanan Suarez Diez. "There's anger. People are sick and tired of being second-class citizens. This is america."
IIllyeanna Wolfstorm marched to put a face to the controversy.
"My not having equal rights as lesbian mom -- I feel it financially, every day," she said.
After her partner left, Wolfstorm said she and her daughter were homeless.
"If I had been like my mom when my mom divorced my dad, she had recourse legally. I don't have that. We're going to make it no matter what. I don't think people realize that children are affected," she said.
The California high court also held Tuesday that the estimated 18,000 same-sex weddings that took place in that state before the prohibition passed are still valid.
In Washington state, lawmakers recently approved a measure expanding the state's domestic partnership law, giving same-sex domestic partners all the rights and benefits afforded to married couples. Opponents trying to overturn that measure are seeking to place a referendum on the November ballot. On Tuesday, those opponents challenged the wording of the potential ballot measure.
Joe Mirabella helped organized the Tuesday evening rally at Westlake Center in Seattle. Mirabelle said he believes legalization of same-sex marriage is inevitable, but some of those gathered said they were prepared to be let down.
"We were disappointed, but also not totally surprised. For us it's conclusion of a disappointment that started last November," said Connie Watts.
Still, the premonitions didn't stop the hundreds of protesters from rallying and even participating in an impromptu from downtown Seattel to the city's Capitol Hill neighborhood.
"The spontaneous march that happened today out of the rally spoke to what gay folks, queer folks are feeling," said Chanan Suarez Diez. "There's anger. People are sick and tired of being second-class citizens. This is america."
IIllyeanna Wolfstorm marched to put a face to the controversy.
"My not having equal rights as lesbian mom -- I feel it financially, every day," she said.
After her partner left, Wolfstorm said she and her daughter were homeless.
"If I had been like my mom when my mom divorced my dad, she had recourse legally. I don't have that. We're going to make it no matter what. I don't think people realize that children are affected," she said.
The California high court also held Tuesday that the estimated 18,000 same-sex weddings that took place in that state before the prohibition passed are still valid.
In Washington state, lawmakers recently approved a measure expanding the state's domestic partnership law, giving same-sex domestic partners all the rights and benefits afforded to married couples. Opponents trying to overturn that measure are seeking to place a referendum on the November ballot. On Tuesday, those opponents challenged the wording of the potential ballot measure.
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