November 12, 2008
NATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST AGAINST PROP 8 IS NOVEMBER 15TH
Local clergy, community and business leaders plan candlelight vigil in Downtown Reno.
Reno, NV: In a historic show of nationwide solidarity, local clergy, community and business leaders will hold a candlelight vigil and march in front of Reno City Hall at City Plaza (10 North Virginia Street) at 5:30pm on Saturday November 15th 2008 in protest of California's Proposition 8. Speakers will rally the crowd before marching in candle lit silence to the Reno Arch. They will demand to be heard as "ONE LOUD VOICE OF UNITED CITIZENS, EQUAL IN MIND, BODY, SPIRIT AND DESERVING OF FULL EQUALITY UNDER THE LAW!"
Over the last several days, tens of thousands of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (GLBT) people, their allies and supporters have taken to the streets of California to show their outrage with the passage of California's Proposition 8, which takes away the right to marry for same-sex couples in California.
Through aggressive grassroots organizing, people have planned similar events nationally against Proposition 8. To date, more than 250,000 individuals have pledged to take part in the nationwide event, in which they will descend upon the City Halls, State Capitols and the Nation's Capitol to make their voices heard. The National Day of Protest has been organized, in large part, through popular news media and social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, Myspace, Invalidateprop8.org and Jointheimpact.com, showing the power of a community coming together.
Although the historic election of Barack Obama is considered worldwide as one of the most amazing wins for equality, the celebration has been bittersweet for the GLBT community. In a night most of us will remember for the remainder of our lives, we have witnessed the first black man elected to the Presidency of the United States of America, while watching with sadness and a profound sense of disappointment of our defeats in; Florida, Arizona, Arkansas and California as equal rights for all American citizens were voted down.
Proposition 8 affects every American citizen. This vote was the first time a state referendum has removed rights already granted to a community and it sets a dangerous and slippery slope of legal precedent. The GLBT community, their allies and supporters have had a brief glimpse of marriage equality and will not stop until full equality is again granted. The GLBT community will no longer accept being treated like second class citizens and we demand our God-given equal rights under the constitution!
I was fortunate enough to be part of one of many rallys and marches in SF this weekend. The city was and remains electric...even to the point of possibly resurrecting ACT-UP for this cause. It excited me. I spoke with someone there about Reno's rally attendance...they said they had already heard.
I returned home tonight to email with a friend in Buffalo, New York. I spoke of Reno's numbers and how they matched Buffalo's...they said they had heard already.
Reno....way to step up to the plate and be heard.
Mr. Eddie Reynoso, Sir, you have and will always make me proud of the potential in Reno's LGBTQ community.
As one of the 18000 couples who recently legally wed in California...this issue cuts to the core of my being, Thank you all for taking up this fight.
Thanks to all on a well organized event. I was surprised there was no demonstrators. Nice to see that We can all get together for a PEACEFUL protest. Now we need to stay on the Politicians asses. A few years ago they all showed up at the Black and White Ball, including Governor Gibbons. There was a election a few months later,GO FIGURE! good work to all and a personal THANK YOU to Mr. Reynoso
To Eddie, Sam, Bill, Rev. Dalton et al:
Too many to name them all!! But it was hands down the best demonstration I've seen in a long time and I've seen allot!!
Way more people showed up than anyone even expected! I couldn't do a head count cause there was so many!! Everybody was so loving, caring, and SUPPORTIVE!! NO counter protesters NONE!! This says allot!!
Sam spoke so well and I hope he posts his speech here!! Last night was a GREAT example why my spouse and I LOVE RENO!!
EtheDJ & KtheEditor
The fact is that more people have been slaughtered in the name of religion than for any other single reason. That, THAT my friends, is true perversion. Quote by Harvey Milk
Hope will NEVER silent!!
Eddie You did a wonderful work last night. I have been going to events for years and the person I always see is You. It is truly outstanding that You can give so much back to the community and You are a man of action, not words. Pride, marches, Aids Walk, and the individuals You help. A lot of Us owe You a debt of Gratitude. Thanks for being our MAN!
This site: http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/ is being spammed around the web as a hub for information regarding the protest.
Many cities have provided website links to this site for people to access local information.
Reno does not yet have any representation.
Can a person or organization please step up and organize this?
Thanks
The website http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/ has been updated to reflect the correct time of 5:30pm. Permits were obtained for 5:30pm only. If you go at 10:30am you most likely be arrested for disturbing the peace or interfering with construction. Please everyone bring candles and signs. This is a peaceful protest.
I suggested once on RGJ that legalizing gay marriage could bring a bunch of $$'s into our town. Everyone coming here to get married would surely spend money on flowers, on hotel rooms, at our gas stations, at our airport, in our casinos...
I have also mentioned the possibility that supporters might want to donate blood before/during/after any gathering to emphasize the fact that the blood services will not accept donations from anyone admitting to a same-sex relationship.
And on top of that, what if a religion recognizes a same-sex marriage, but the government forbids it? Many major religions now recognize the union of same-sex couples, but also state that a couple in a union are living in sin if that union is not a marriage.
posted something like this in my blog:
Prop 8 passed in CA defining that marriage is only a union between a "man" and a "woman", but does it include a definition of man or woman?
What is a man or a woman? There have been people born as XX that developed a significant male anatomy. And vice-versa.
There have also been male circumcisions that have gone drastically awry, and the parents elected to ask the doctor to assign a different gender profile to the child.
And there have been children raised as the opposite gender in cultures that respect and honor that choice (of the parents, not the child).
And that doesn't even touch the other variations, like extra X or extra Y chromosomes.
Not even talking about gender-reassignment here.
So if we define a man as XY and a woman as XX, then no one else can never ever get married, no matter what church camp they go to?