Nov 8, 2008 12:49 pm US/Pacific
Thousands March In SF Protest Against Prop. 8
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
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Protesters march along Market Street in San Francisco to protest passage of Proposition 8.
AP
Thousands of protesters angered by the passage of a state measure banning gay marriage marched through downtown San Francisco during rush hour Friday evening, carrying signs and snarling traffic.
The crowd marched from United Nations Plaza down Market Street to Delores Park to voice their angst over the passage of Proposition 8, which amends the California Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.
Protest organizers splashed the information about the demonstration on Web sites such as Yelp and Facebook to draw the huge crowd.
Walking with a sign that reads "You gave rights to chickens and took away rights from human beings," 42-year-old Lisa Davis of Alameda said she planned on proposing marriage to her same-sex partner during the march.
As the protesters made their way southwest on Market Street towards Castro Street around 6 p.m., some joined hands across Market at Ninth Street. The barrier stopped traffic for more than an hour, causing honks from vehicles, some in support and others in annoyance and an urgency to get past.
Those who made it to Dolores Park chanted, played music and danced, prompting the temporary closure of Dolores Street at 19th Street.
Police Lt. Neville Gittens said three people were arrested for being drunk in public but added that they did not appear to be part of the protest, just observing.
Gittens said that by about 8 p.m. the protest broke up peacefully.
Proposition 8 passed Tuesday by a slim margin, overriding a ruling by the California Supreme Court in May that briefly gave same-sex couples the right to wed. Thousands of couples were married following the ruling.
Meanwhile, gay rights groups and same-sex marriage proponents have filed three court challenges against the Prop. 8 ban.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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