San Francisco Police Arrest 80 in Pro Gay Marriage Rally

We've been in the middle of the civil disobedience at Van Ness and Grove St. here in San Francisco. The protesters, many of them from the equal rights group One Struggle One Fight, took over the intersection at about 10:30 this morning, after the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8 banning gay marriage in the state. About 80 protesters staged a peaceful sit-in in the middle of the intersection, with several hundred other supporters gathered around chanting "One Struggle, One Fight, Equal Justice, Equal Rights." The sit-in was peaceful, although one of the anti-gay-marriage protesters started shouting at the group at one point about how the people of California weren't haters, but just protecting marriage.  The croud was in an angry mood, and one protester engaged in an angry debate with him for about a minute, but many of the gay and lesbian attendees surrounded the man as peacekeepers, and encouraged hiom to step away, which he did. The poilce monitored the rally, and at about 1 PM, they stepped in and began to arrest the seated protesters one by one, asking them to stand, and then binding their hands behind their backs. They were then led off to a line for processing, and put into the back of paddywagons, in a scene eerily reminiscnt of the raids on gay bars that happened routinely before and for awhile after Stonewall. As each protester was led off, the croud applauded their courage and willingness to stand up for their convictions. The police, for their part, showed restraint, and one policman who spoke with us expressed regret that this even had to be an issue in this day and age. The protesters will be taken to the city jail, cited, and released. I'm including some of the pics we took of the protest and arrest with this post.  There's another rally tonight at 5 PM at Civic Center, marching to Yerba Buena Gardens at 6, and then a rally there from 7-8:30 PM.  If you can make it, come!