What I saw at City Hall

At Saturday's protest before City Hall. Photo by Beth Adelson.

I could only stay at the Prop. 8 protest for about half an hour on Saturday (before scooting off to Saint Joan), but even those few minutes were enough to lift all the gloom (and more) that the Catholics and Mormons can dish out. I left feeling for the first time that yes, full civil rights for people like me are, indeed, not a long shot but inevitable. What made the difference? The scores of straight people - almost all young - at the protest. In the rain. With homemade signs supporting my rights, not theirs. There were a few straight folks at the State House protests back at the start of the marriage struggle (along with, I kid you not, nuns praying on their knees and even a guy dressed as Jesus dragging a full-size cross back and forth). But nothing like this. The dark forces in Rome and Salt Lake City are powerless before this generational shift, I think. As for the black community - well, just try to find a person of color in that photo up there (there were a few, but not many). When will African-Americans look in the mirror and realize their mistake on today's great civil rights question? Maybe not for years. But then again, maybe we won't need them, either.