Human rights advocates to hold peaceful protest in New York
12/11/2008 17:09
Several thousand human rights advocates will march on the Mormon Temple in
New York in a peaceful protest today.
Demonstrators will speak out against
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for the active role it played in
passing California's Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that overturns a
state Supreme Court decision in May which legalized same-sex unions.
"Hatred
has no place in society and it has no place in state constitutions," said Corey
Johnson, co-organizer of the protest.
"Proposition 8 robs the LGBT (an
initialism referring collectively to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender/transsexual people) community of its dignity and equality as
American citizens," he said. "While human rights activists in California work to
overturn this shameful amendment, we here in New York protest in solidarity with
them, and we will work to ensure that a similar law never happens here."
The
Manhattan demonstration follows on the heels of protests in California that
began last week after the passage of Prop. 8. Tens of thousands of people have
marched through San Francisco, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, San Diego and many
other cities.
A national day of protest is planned for Saturday, organized by
Join the Impact.
More than 18,000 gay and lesbian couples have reportedly
tied the knot in California since June 17.
New York State Governor David
Paterson issued a directive in May requiring state agencies to recognize
same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.
Xinhua
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