California Supreme Court Hearing on Marriage

It was a colourful and peaceful gathering of hundreds of people outside of the Civic Center and California Supreme Court early this morning.

Both supporters and opponents of Prop 8, the election vote that overturned the Court's ruling allowing same-sex marriage in California, were there to campaign and watch a live broadcast of the hearing set up on a large screen outside the Civic Center.

Across the plaza, seven Supreme Court justices were preparing to listen to arguments on both sides on three issues:

Is Prop 8 invalid because it constitutes a 'revision of' rather than an 'amendment to' the state Constitution? Does it violate the 'separation of powers' doctrine? And the thorny question, if Prop 8 is valid, what effect if any will it have on the 18,000 couples who entered into same-sex marriage between June, when the Supreme Court ruling came into effect, and November when the electoral vote put a stop to such marriages.

But while the crowd, largely those in favour of same-sex marriage, waited for the Court hearing to begin at 9 am, a rally had been organized with speakers, two of them gay and lesbian church ministers.

The first minister said he had married his partner in Canada and had been in activism for 40 years.

He urged the crowd to live in hope that one day they would win the battle for same-sex marriage.

'You can't live one second without hope,' he said. 'We've already won the battle.'

In a jibe at the Mormon church who helped finance the campaign to restore a definition of traditional marriage to the state Constitution, he said, 'I want to thank God for the Mormon church this morning,' ie for their example of polygamy. All we're requesting is one!'

'I'm not here to destroy anybody's marriage,' he said. 'I'm here to have my own.'

Next to him, a Pentecostal minister who said she had had a lesbian partner for 25 years, spoke of the history of the church finally solemnizing slave marriages, a parallel that she saw to the current debate.

'Banning same-sex marriage is a form of gay bashing and would do nothing to protect traditional marriage,' she said.

Carrying posters, however, as they walked past the Civic Center towards the Supreme Court that conveyed the message, 'The people have voted twice!' were Kelly, Karen and Eva. They were making the point that Californians have

'We're here to support and stand up for the will of the majority for voters in the state of California who have voted twice on this issue in 2000 and 2008 and we object to judicial activism and hope that the justices are not swayed by political opinion,' said Karen.

Back at the podium another speaker from the black community spoke against the black vote on Prop 8 - it has been measured at 59 per cent, above the average vote of other groupings - claiming that blacks had been wrongly influenced.

'Many ministers initially told their congregations homosexuality is a sin,' she said.

She said that if Prop 8 was allowed to stand, it would mean that any rights could be taken away from any community.

The Executive Director of Equality California, Geoff Kors, speaking of the enactment of Prop 8 said, 'What if a simple majority can decide my 80-year-old parents don't have the right to medical care?'

Standing listening were a large group of Prop 8 supporters who had travelled in from Sacramento. They stood quietly with giant banners that simply read 'Tradtional Marriage' with a large red tick in a ballot square painted alongside.

However, they did not wish to make public comment.

Outside the Supreme Court I met Kelly, Karen and Eva again and asked them about the issue of 'rights'.

'What is defined as a fundamental right?,' said Karen who has a legal background. 'There are protected classes. Gender is one of them and has a higher level of scrutiny. The other class is race,' she said.

There were laws against misogyny and sexual discrimination, but that it was not a 'right' to marry.

The issue of blacks marrying whites, a racial precedent that supporters of same-sex marriage were using in argument, was a different issue, she said.

'The California Supreme Court has found a way of saying that gay marriage is a fundamental right, thus giving it the highest level of scrutiny.

'We felt we needed to protect the traditional definition of marriage, we shouldn't have to,' she said.

At that point, Daniel, a young gay man who had been listening, joined in.

'This is the first instance discrimination has been written into the Constitution,' he said.

As they debated, Karen reiterated, 'It's about protecting the traditional definition of marriage.'

'So where can you stop?' said Daniel, asking about how restrictive laws could be made on gay couples.

'They can marry the same way we can. They have the same rights,' said Eva.

Leaving the discussion I turned to go back to the screen as the Court hearing was starting and passed a group from the Assembly of the Living God, San Francisco, engaging in prayer.

The Supreme Court hearing report to follow

pics show: Kelly, Karen, Eva; gay and lesbian ministers; supporters of traditional marriage; supporters of same-sex marriage

for an album of pics click here:

Israeli-Palestinian Protest - drummer

Is it a drumstick or an offensive weapon?

That was the question concerning police in the throes of supervising the very loud pro-Palestinian protest outside the Israeli Consulate last night.

(see previous blogs)

The protest was well underway with chanting supported by drumbeats when
suddenly, the police moved one of the drummers away from the crowd.

Ushering him to the back of the sidewalk they challenged him over his 'drumstick', a hammer-looking implement with claws.

'It's a drum mallet! A stick!' argued the drummer, carrying his large white plastic drum with him.

'A weapon!' said the first police officer.

'It's a hammer!' said a second police officer.

But after a few minutes, the police decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and he was left to continue his chant-leading drumbeats but with the head of the hammer wrapped in sticky tape.

For an album of more pics click here

Israeli-Palestinian Protest at Israeli Consulate (2)

Dina Wahbe balanced precariously on a fire hydrant outside the Israeli Consulate this evening, megaphone in hand, and led the chanting of hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters. (see previous blog for first report)

Pausing to comment on the protest, she said, 'We need to let them (Israel) know we will continue to fight. We don't care how many bombs they drop.'

She was surrounded by swirling flags, placards and hundreds of demonstrators jostling on the sidewalk.

This was the second anti-Israeli demonstration in two days, this one being organised by the A.N.S.W.E.R - Act Now to Stop War and End Racism - Coalition and supported by various political groups.


One of the organizers was Nathalie Hrizi who had also been leading the chanting.

'I think it's fantastic,' she said of the turnout. 'More people are coming now, more people are feeling upset about what's happening in Gaza.'

She cited the numbers of people killed and injured in what she described as 'a year-long seige. It's a humanitarian disaster,' she said. But she was hopeful that the protests would bring an end to the war.


'I think the power of the people across the world have shown that the majority are against the war and that's the force that matters. We're going to stop the war.'

Not far from her was Dowa who said she was there 'to support Palestine.'

Did she have family there?

'All of them are our family,' she said first, though adding that she did have personal family members there.

pics show protesters with Nathalie Hrizi (top) and Dina Wahbe

Further reports and more pics in next blog
For album of more pics click here

Israeli-Palestinian Protest at Israeli Consulate

It was big! It was noisy! Though at the end of the day nothing like

the crescendo of missiles landing in Israel and Gaza.

But for over an hour hundreds of mostly anti-Israel anti-USA demonstrators chanted outside the Israeli Consulate this evening. They then marched from Montgomery Street down to Market Street and onto the Civic Center where they milled around

and dispersed into smaller groups, some continuing to parade the streets.

The pro-Israeli supporters were heavily outnumbered but undaunted as protesters lined both sides of the street outside of the Consulate at 5 pm.

From the start, the chanting got underway. 'Stop bombing Palestine...Stop bombing children...Free free Palestine!' And then the drums began to throb. The Palestinian supporters packed the sidewalk outside the Consulate but also were spread on the opposite side with the few Israeli supporters.

There was a large police presence with helicopters overhead.

On the Israeli side were Luda and Irina, Russian Jewesses.

'American Jews have very little understanding of what is going on,' said Luda, referring to the huge support for Palestine. 'I think they don't care to understand what is going on, they're superficial.

''They only support Palestinians because they (Palestinians) are poor. They don't know anything about Israel. Basically, they're just brainwashed.'

Suddenly, as if on cue, a figure waving a miniature Menorah strolled past and caught Luda's attention. She turned to talk to him.

'I'm Jewish American. I'm for human rights,' said Adam and went on his way.

'And that means automatically he supports Palestinians,' complained Luda. 'So Israel should let Hamas destroy us and do nothing about it! That would make all the anti-Semites happy,' she said.

Caden, a young Jew, was there, he said, 'to support the story of the other side.'

His friend, Jonathan, was one of the leaders of the Jewish counter-protest. 'I don't understand why the world is going crazy, because Hamas attacks Israel, because Hamas their goal is to destroy Jews, and basically they have been firing rockets for months...from the Gaza Strip.'

He said that of the nearly 400 people killed so far between 200 and 250 were terrorists, although conceding that many civilians had been injured.

As he was talking, Omar came up and accused him of bigotry.

'I know both sides. Trust me, I was there, I had rockets fired at me,' said Jonathan, referring to a school trip back to his homeland when he had been in the vicinity though not direct firing line of missiles.

'Israel stole the land from the Palestinians. I disagree with violence on both sides,' continued Omar with passion.

The two argued over the siege of Gaza and the blocking of transport routes.

'Supplies are coming from Hezbollah,' said Jonathan, defending Israel's actions.

'Blockading the country is an act of war,' said Omar.

By then Omar was one of quite a few Palestinian supporters who were crowding onto the Israeli side in an effort to dominate, their black, white, green and red flags mingling with the few blue and white ones.

The loud chanting continued, several conversations between opposing sides were taking place and police stepped in and broke up a couple of verbal altercations.

For more reports and pics see next blog.
For album of extra pics click here

pics show protesters outside the Israeli Consulate; mingling of Palestinian and Israeli flags; Jonathan and Caden; A.N.S.W.E.R Coalition leading the march down Montgomery Street