Bill Thompson and Walker Harper recently married in California, and worry about the state of future marriages after California voters approved Proposition 8 to ban gay marriage. (Photo courtesy of Thompson and Harper)
Local activists say fight for gay marriage not over Atlanta Prop 8 protests hope to raise awareness of marriage equality
Married
days
before
the
Nov.
4
election,
Walker
Harper
and
his
husband,
Bill
Thompson,
sat
in
a
San
Francisco
hotel
room
watching
as
joy
mixed
with
dread
on
Election
Night.
“We
didn’t
go
down
to
Castro
Street
that
night,
everyone
was
very
excited
about
Obama
winning
…
but
I
think
everyone
was
disappointed
that
Proposition
8
passed,”
Thompson
said.
Harper
and
Thompson
are
among
the
Georgia
couples
who
traveled
to
California
in
the
five
months
when
gay
couples
could
receive
marriage
certificates.
Like
many,
they
are
hopeful
that
either
the
legal
system
or
a
future
ballot
initiative
will
offer
legal
protections
to
other
couples.
“Of
course
it’s
a
major
disappointment
because
Prop
8
passed.
Of
course
we’re
hopeful
that
the
marriage
we
got
will
not
be
nullified,”
Harper
said.
Will
and
Gary
Stringer-Walker
didn’t
travel
from
Macon
to
California
to
hold
their
wedding
as
a
political
protest.
They
hoped,
at
least
in
part,
that
should
a
worst-case
scenario
happen
to
either
one
of
them,
a
judge
might
look
upon
their
California
marriage
and
honor
the
heart
of
their
intentions,
if
not
the
letter
of
the
law.
“Even
though
it
was
something
that
we
had
to
drive
2,500
miles
to
do,
something
our
children
can
do
by
just
going
down
to
the
local
courthouse,
we
felt
it
was
important,”
Will
Stringer-Walker
said.
They
have
been
together
nine
years
and
have
four
children
between
them
from
previous
relationships.
Although
there
is
pressure
in
some
conservative
circles
to
void
the
marriage
licenses
issued
to
same-sex
couples,
the
Stringer-Walker
family
was
told
that
Proposition
8
wouldn’t
retroactively
undo
their
marriage.
“What
we
were
told
in
the
court
house
is
that
anyone
who
was
married
during
that
time
is
still
legally
married,”
Will
Stringer-Walker
said.
PROTESTS
PLANNED
A
recently
founded
grassroots
organization
called
Join
the
Impact
is
staging
demonstrations
in
a
number
of
cities
on
Nov.
15.
In
Atlanta,
several
people
stepped
forward
to
lead
protests,
and
after
negotiating
and
promoting
the
events
through
Facebook,
the
organizers
joined
forces.
“We’re
turning
it
from
three
individual
rallies
into
one
giant
day,”
said
Lee
Orton,
a
public
relations
student
at
Georgia
State
University.
At
press
time,
two
events
were
planned
for
Saturday.
The
day
kicks
off
with
a
rally
at
the
State
Capitol
building
at
1:30
p.m.
on
Nov.
15.
After
the
rally,
participants
are
encouraged
to
also
attend
a
candlelight
vigil
at
5
p.m.
in
the
heart
of
Atlanta’s
gay
community.
The
vigil,
planned
by
another
group
of
organizers
and
heavily
promoted
on
Facebook,
will
gather
marriage
equality
supporters
at
what
may
be
the
gayest
intersection
in
the
city,
the
corner
of
10th
Street
and
Piedmont
Avenue.
The
goal
of
the
vigil
is
to
show
that
Atlantans
“stand
in
solidarity
against
this
effort
to
use
scare
tactics
and
incorrect
information
in
denying
justice
for
the
LGBT
community
in
California
and
throughout
the
world.”
Outwrite
Bookstore
&
Coffeehouse,
Nickiemoto’s
and
Zocalo
have
donated
their
parking
lots
for
the
vigil.
OTHER
ANTI-GAY
MEASURES
PASSED
Proposition
8
is
gathering
nationwide
attention,
but
little
has
been
said
of
Florida
and
Arizona,
which
passed
similar
gay
marriage
bans
on
Nov.
4.
Arkansas
also
approved
a
voter
referendum
that
bars
unmarried
couples
from
adopting
or
serving
as
foster
parents,
with
the
purpose
of
prohibiting
gay
families
from
adopting
and
fostering
children.
One
reason
why
Proposition
8
receives
the
most
coverage
is
because
many
believe
it
is
still
beatable.
Thompson
said
he
hopes
his
marriage
will
remain
valid,
and
future
generations
of
gay
Californians
will
be
able
to
marry.
“Is
there
going
to
be
a
state
that
votes
to
make
segregated
schools
again?
Is
that
OK?
I
don’t
think
so,”
Thompson
said,
noting
the
lawsuits
and
lower
approval
rates
for
Proposition
8
than
past
anti-gay
ballot
amendments.
“I
think
ultimately
it
will
be
changed,
and
ultimately
it
will
be
reversed.”
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