As 2,500 protesters hit the streets of West Hollywood and Hollywood tonight in protest of Prop 8, the LAPD went into a citywide tactical alert calling all available officers to the Hollywood area to help control the march that has overtaken streets. According to users on Twitter, streets around Hollywood/Highland and Sunset/Cahuenga are completely shut down with various helicopters hovering above (also Santa Monica and Robertson in WeHo is shut down). Radio reports say that police batons were used on at least one protester who may have been arrested, but the event has been mostly peaceful. Apparently, the march is growing as it goes on.
Videos from the scene below the photos:
Santa Monica west of La Brea:
Near Sunset and Crescent Heights:
YouTube vids by grwalrus and gayesteveromfg.
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I saw a bunch of helicopters and was wondering what was happening.
we have finally been shaken out of our complacency. that's what's happening.
WHy don't people protest where they voted on prop 8? Seems kind of stupid to protest in an area where everyone agrees with each others' values.
WeHo? Talk about preaching to the choir.
Why not march in Leimert Park and block a few churches?
Or would that be too nuanced for Obama voters.
Well. It started as an equality rally. A large group of people broke off at the end and started walking toward Sunset.
To answer "why not protest where they voted on prop 8" - well, I dunno if you've seen the map of "Yes on 8" votes, but the yes votes came in from all over the state, so, huh?
If you mean "why march in the one place where the votes were probably all for NoOn8?" - you need to think a little about what it means to be gay in America, and then realize why they would hold a rally - which is what was scheduled, not a march - in a place that feels known and safe. It's a supportive atmosphere for gays, the sheriffs are pretty protective, the rally got some needed press attention, and it was a safe outlet for some of the energy and anger that's been building up as gay folks watched their fellow Californians vote them back into second-class citizens.
They weren't looking for a fight - as marching in Leimert Park and blocking a few churches could have prompted - and it wasn't a planned campaign - it was a rally that turned into a spontaneous march as the numbers grew.
Nuanced - well, sorry, that just misses the mark. Not sure the day after this important vote was lost called for "nuance" - and if gays had marched into an area not expecting the march nor used to gays marching through their streets, organizers would have been criticized for inciting confrontation, being intrusive and possibly racist.
These criticisms clearly misunderstand how this evolved, and what it was for. But then, I don't think "understanding" was really the point of these little digs, either.
Anyhow, I left my house at 11:00p and went to join them - I've been feeling horrible all day about this vote, and wanted to show support in a way that might mean something. The crowd was noisy but peaceful, and quite unlike the intolerant homophobes that voted for "Yes on 8." I was proud to march with them, and will help in the fight to get this anti-civil rights amendment overturned.
There's another rally and protest scheduled for tomorrow at 2:00p in front of the Mormon Church on Santa Monica Blvd. & Overland. I sincerely hope you find that location nuanced enough, and come to help support your gay brothers and sisters.
QuoterGal is right. It started off as a rally, a 'lets not get our spirits down' sort of thing, which eventually branched off into a protest.
To reiterate what QGal has said, there WILL be a protest at the MORMON CHURCH on SANTA MONICA BLVD/OVERLAND.
2 PM ! Hope to see you guys there.
-b
on an side note:
How do you prevent groups from out of state from funding campaigns for props in our state?
I don't think anyone who isn't from Cali should be influencing how we use our votes.
The city of West Hollywood held the rally. That is why it was in West Hollywood.
I've run some calculations on the overall vote (so far) by Californians and the votes for each of the propositions. As would be expected proposition votes were below the vote count for president.
There was one exception to this where there were almost as many votes cast on a proposition as there were cast for president.
Proposition 8. There were 9,996,437 votes cast for McCain and Obama and 10,246,434 votes cast on Proposition 8. That means 249,997 more votes were cast on Proposition 8 than were cast for McCain and Obama combined.
Overall there were 10,348,698 presidential votes distributed among Barak Obama, John McCain, Ralph Nader, Bob Barr, Alan Keys, and Cynthia McKinney.
Of that 10.35 million votes 93.8% voted on 1A, 95.6% on Proposition 2, 93.5% on Prop 3, 95.6% and so on. 99% of voters weighed in on Proposition 8. That's the highest percentage of votes cast for both president and any of the propositions.
theGrocer: I agree. If national races restrict outside money and influence state races should too.
We need another Stonewall.
How do you prevent groups from out of state from funding campaigns for props in our state?
I don't think anyone who isn't from Cali should be influencing how we use our votes.
Tell that to Tony Villar.
Wow wow wow. It was incredible, I was out there the whole time. The energy was nuts. It all started with the intersection of Santa Monica and San Vicente, just clustered there blocking the intersection. Then it started growing and people started moving out of the intersection and it became a march. I don't know how it looked from those helicopters, but the energy on the ground was amazing. This fight isn't over.
Fuck yes! I was ecstatic when I saw it on TV last night. :) We're gonna beat this and the yes on 8 folks have no idea what they got themselves into! :) Woot woot!!
Exit polls in California found that 70 percent of black voters backed the ban. Slightly more than half of Latino voters, who made up almost 20 percent of voters, favored the ban, while 53 percent of whites opposed it. so get a life
I was on the ground last night lahipster, and I can tell you this is far from over.
Just for y'alls info, lahipster seems to want to incite a little anger at some of the folks who voted "yes." lahipster may have their own agenda for hopping from LAist thread to thread and posting these stats, but my advice would be to ignore them and focus on the stuff that matters - getting rid of Prop 8.
The legal challenges are already on their way, there's a protest at the Mormon church at Santa Monica Blvd. & Overland as we speak, our Attorney General Jerry Brown has declared 18,000 CA same-sex marriages valid (http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/relationships/37701prs20081105.html) - which helps the legal challenges immeasurably, and NoOnProp8 will fight this uncivil-rights amendment until it's gone at http://invalidateprop8.org/
All kinds of people - black and white and latino/a and gay and straight and more are gonna have to join hands, step over the trolls, and get the work done. There are bunches of ha8ers out there, but enough lovers to counteract the "Yes on 8" lies that won them this measure. We can get the job done.
Invalidate Prop 8 and keep the motion going! I'll be there...
SO why the mormon church? Other churches put money in so why not blame them too? Or are they just targeting the Mormons because thats just what everyone does when they have no idea, blame the mormons.
The Mormon church, even though it is one of the smallest denominations in the state, contributed the most money of any single group, most of it from out of state. We're not talking chump change here, were talking 15 million dollars. Most of this money was spent putting out advertising that blatantly lied, such as claims that if prop 8 did not pass, churches would lose tax except status and schools would force children to be taught gay marriage. Neither of these claims is true, but "think of the children", is a tried and true way to sucker votes, whether something has anything to do with children or not.
No one in the Yes on 8 camp has yet explained what would be so horrible about teaching tolerance to children anyway.
The lies perpetrated by the Yes on 8 people were just a way of inflaming age old prejudices, and evolking an emotional response from the electorate. It was a page right out of the Lee Atwater/Karl Rove play book.
@lahipster your antagonistic comments are unwelcome, reflect poorly on those who support traditional marriage, and make you look like a fool. Respectfully, can it, or stop trolling.
@jrb
Tolerance of "people" is great and should be taught to all. However many parents believe that certain behaviors are not to be tolerated and don't appreciate when their values and beliefs they teach their kids are undermined at school.
Imagine your a parent (maybe you are) and you teach your kids drugs are unhealthy for them and to not to take them. Then when they get to school, they are taught that drugs are perfectly ok and the teacher demonstrates how to use them. Most parents would be upset with that.
Now in no way am I comparing Gay marriage to drug use. Its just an example to illustrate my point. Parents have the right to teach and bring up their kids in the way they see fit. They are within their rights to vote for laws that will prevent the possibility of unwanted topics being taught to their children at school.
Prop 8 not passing wouldn't make teaching of Gay Marriage in school mandatory, as some have tried to scare people. Under California state law schools are not required to teach about marriage, but if they did teach about marriage, should they choose, under California State law they are required to teach both gay and traditional marriage, had prop 8 not passed.
You are welcome to disagree with those who support traditional marriage. But they do have valid reasons, and they do have a valid stand point, though some like lahipster choose to be offensive about it. I apologize for his behavior, I doubt he will.
I feel for your disappointment with prop 8 and I hope some arrangement can be found which will satisfy both proponents of traditional and gay marriage.
I wish you luck, and may both sides keep it respectful. We are all as you say, one. Sisters and Brothers. A solution will be found. Call out those who use hateful speech, remind them there is no room on either side for hate.
Commenting about of state money.
The No campaign received more out of state money than the yes campaign
Total contributions:
$38.4 million against prop 8
$36.1 million for prop 8
In State contributions:
$26.4 million against
$25.3 million for
Out of state contributions:
$11.9 million against
$10.7 million for
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-moneymap,0,2198220.htmlstory
No on 8 outspent Yes in every category, but still the numbers are pretty even.
Banning out of state money, according to these numbers, doesn't seem like it would change much. Californian issues should be strictly up to Californians, but do to its size, California issues do have repercussions across the nation, even across the world, and funding from out of state is allowed under law in this and many states. Banning out of state money could be something you could push for, but you never know when that extra money just might help your cause. Its a double edged sword.
Hi, the second photo you posted was not from Santa Monica boulevard. It was when we were on Sunset.
On another note, if people want to read my blog: djnovajade.podomatic.com
or myspace.com/djnovajade
I've been out there all three days, and I'm about to post my recap about yesterday night in Long Beach. Peace to all! See you tonight!
OH, and it's my 25th birthday. Hooray!
YES ON PROP 8 IS RIGHT
INTOLERANCE: NOT A ONE-WAY STREET
It seems that those professing others to be intolerant are the least tolerant.
You don't like my view of Yes on 8 and that marriage is between One Man and One Woman, so you do not tolerate my position.
You hate that the Mormom Church contributed millions to Yes on 8, so you don't tolerate their right. You tolerate the Polygamist in Utah ocntributing millions to the No on 8, so you tolerate that.
You hate that a high percentage of Blacks voted Yes on 8, because you conclude that they must accept what they know to be immoral because they fought for what all know is moral.
Questions:
1. Do you tolerate men marrying three, four, and five women?
2. Do you tolerate men marrying teenage child brides?
3. Do you tolerate pedophiles having sex with children?
4. Do you tolerate homosexual pedophile Catholic priests? Maybe you do, because you allowed one to be a spokesman for No on 8
5. Do you tolerate your sister and brother having sex and getting married?
6. Do you tolerate your adult sister and father having sex and getting married?
Definition:
People define intolerance as being those people who disagree with them and tolerance being those people who agree with them.
"Now in no way am I comparing Gay marriage to drug use."
Excuse me, but you just did.
Using drugs for recreational purposes is a personal choice. By making that comparison, you are saying that sexual orientation is a personal choice. While the nature or nurture debate is viewed as a matter of opinion among straight people, I have yet to meet a gay or lesbian person who thought their sexual orientation was a matter of personal choice.
I think they just might be in a better position to know for a fact than me.
Poq, if you are against same sex marriage, then by all means don't marry some one of the same sex, but don't try and justify your own personal belief system as a reason to deny another group of people equal rights.
And I have many of gays who proclaim that it is a matter of choice. It used to be called sexual preferecne by activist