Prop. 8 brings people to the streets

Both sides get out to put forward their views on gay-marriage amendment.
By MICHAEL MELLO and RACHANEE SRISAVASDI
The Orange County Register


The debate over whether gay marriage should be allowed to continue intensified on Saturday, as supporters and opponents of an initiative to ban same-sex marriage took time to hold rallies across Orange County.

Supporters of Proposition 8, which seeks to end gay marriage, had promised to "make Orange County yellow" by holding rallies at major intersections along Pacific Coast Highway. They planned to gather more than 1,000 people to wave the campaign's yellow signs from Seal Beach to San Clemente.

That didn't appear to happen, though more than 250 Prop. 8 supporters converged on Huntington Beach. Groups opposed to Prop. 8 cropped up in Laguna Beach, Irvine, and Laguna Niguel.

"There's never been an issue I've so strongly agreed with," said Brian Norton, who joined a group of nearly 100 Prop. 8 supporters in Huntington Beach that lined PCH from Main to First Streets. "College football is on, but that's why I have TiVo."

Prop. 8 would change the California Constitution to define marriage as a union between only a man and a woman.

In Irvine, about 20 people voiced opposition to the proposed amendment. The fervor over Prop 8 has grown as Election Day nears. There have been rallies by both sides at major intersections around the county, and both sides have complained that their campaign signs have been stolen or vandalized. Participants of the rallies in Orange County just wanted to have their say.

Nathan Shahani, a 17-year-old student at Woodbridge High School, attended the Irvine protest to show his support. He can't vote yet -- the voting age is 18 -- so he said he wanted to do what he could. He said this is the first year he's been politically active, having voiced his support for presidential candidate Barack Obama as well.

"I would be so depressed if this proposition passed,'' Shahani said. "My uncle is gay, and if this passes, he couldn't ever get married if he wanted to. This is about equal rights for all people."

He was among 20 people, many of them local high school students, holding "No on 8" signs at Alton Parkway and Culver Drive in Irvine. A few passing drivers honked their horns as they whizzed by.

Tara Perez, a 31-year-old Irvine resident, just married her partner of two-and-a-half years in August at the Laguna Niguel courthouse. She attended the Irvine rally along with her mother and her 12-year-old daughter. "I'm here for my rights. My family is just like any other family,'' said Perez, who works as a benefits administrator at a human-resources company.

Perez told her mother, Ann Ogden, that she was gay about seven years ago. Odgen drove from Los Angeles to go to the rally and support her daughter.

"First I was shocked she was gay,'' Ogden said. "But she needed my love. Her partner is a wonderful person ... I want her to be happy. We should all be able to make up our minds on who we want to marry."

In Newport Beach, more modest "Yes on 8" groups sporadically gathered along PCH. Sign wavers at the highway's intersection with Riverside Avenue tried to made up for the smaller numbers with their enthusiasm.

Cathy Graham of Newport Beach said there were plenty of other things she could have done on Saturday, but "this is what is more important at this time. … I'm not one who likes to do these things. This is scary for me."

She was prompted to attend the rally in part, she said, because one of her co-workers who supports Prop. 8 was written up on the job for having a civil discussion with a colleague who was against the measure.

Even if the rally couldn't convince people to support Prop. 8, Graham said, she hopes it will convince voters to give the amendment another look.

In Laguna Niguel Emily Quinlan, 48, spotted about 20 Prop. 8 opponents on Crown Valley Parkway while on her way home from the gym. The Laguna Niguel resident drove home, picked up her three children and bottles of water and returned to the rally spot overlooking Interstate 5.

"I'm trying to raise my kids with values that they shouldn't discriminate," said Quinlan, offering water to the protestors and picking up a few "No on 8" signs for herself.

"I'm not religious and I'm not gay but I don't think any group should be singled out and told that they are different from everyone else. There was a time women weren't allowed to vote and there was a time when blacks weren't allowed to marry whites."

In Laguna Hills, Richard Gerards and his partner Alex Gil held up anti-Proposition signs at the corner of of Avenida Carlota and El Toro Road. The Aliso Vieo residents hve been a couple for over two years, and said they wanted the option of marrying one day.

Gerards equated the effort of gays being able to get married to the historic fight of blacks to overcome segregation. "They are saying they get to sit at the front of the bus and we have to sit at the back of the bus,'' said Gerards, speaking of the proposition's supporters.

Gil said he wanted to get married one day -- and didn't think he shouldn't be able to because of his sexual orientation. "I'm fighting for rights I should have always had in the first place,'' said Gil, one of about a dozen protesters at the intersection.

Several feet away, 18-year-old Ryan Wright ate an In-n-Out cheeseburger as he looked at the protesters. The Tesoro High School student will vote for the first time in a few weeks -- and said he will vote no on 8. He said he believes in the separation of church and state, and like Gerards, said it was a "segregation issue."

Wright added that he was surprised that all the protests are focused on Prop. 8, and wished more Orange County residents would pay attention to the other propositions, such as Proposition 10, which seeks funding to look into renewable energy resources. "People should focus more on issues that affect our future and us on a global scale,'' he said.

A block away, Rick Meyers and his parnter Chuck Olewine held up "No on 8" signs at El Toro Road and Rockfield Boulevard. They've been at several protests all week, and said some drivers yell slurs at them -- but most others honk in support.

The couple, who have been together 26 years, got married in August. Meyers said he was saddened to see so many in Orange County protesting in favor of the proposition.

"We feel it's time to stand up for the rights we've fought for for 25 years,'' Meyers said.