Rally for Marriage Equality - Sacramento, CA

In conjunction with the national grassroots movement Join the Impact, Equality. Action. Now., a Sacramento-based organization working for LGBT equality, hosted a rally on Saturday, November 15th.  The rally began at 10:30 am PST to coincide with more than 300 rallies being held in cities and towns across America and overseas.

(To fully appreciate the embedded Flickr slideshow of photos I took at the event, click on the "full screen" icon that appears in the lower right corner when you click the image above.  If you then select "Show info" from the banner at the top of the page, you will be able to read the comments and captions I composed for each photo.)

It was a beautiful day in Sacramento, CA.  The skies were blue and the temperature was unseasonably warm.  The scene was Cesar Chavez Park, a plaza in front of Sacramento City Hall.

Organizers from Equality. Action. Now. met with volunteers who acted as street teams to help keep order and peace at the event.  Several of us quickly set up the sound system while others set up tables to sell refreshments, T-shirts, and other memorabilia.  Another team set up a sign-making station so that attendees could prepare a custom sign for the event.

The event began with a song from entertainer Cooper Rae.  Tina Reynolds of EAN acted as emcee.  Sacramento's Mayor Heather Fargo welcomed the crowd of over 1,000.  On June 17th, Fargo officiated some of the first same-sex marriages on the steps of City Hall, across the street from the rally site.

Mayor Fargo, who recently lost her bid for re-election to incoming Mayor Kevin Johnson, got a warm chuckle from the crowd when she acknowledged that she understood how one can feel bitter about losing an election.  But she encouraged the crowd to remain diligent and faithful in their efforts to acheive marriage equality.

Carla Fleming sang for the crowd and got us fired up.  A married couple from nearby Yolo County spoke next.  Shelly and Ellen, about whom Tina said they are so inseperable that they are known to their friends as Shellen, told the story of their annual pilgrimage to the county clerk's office.  Every year on Valentine's Day, Shelly and Ellen would go to their county clerk and apply for a marriage license.  And every year, the county clerk would regretfully turn down their application.  After so many years of saying no, in 2007, the county clerk Freddie Oakley surprised them with a special certificate she had made.  It was a "Certificate of Inequality" that formally acknowledged that the Yolo county clerk was not able to recognize their relationship.

Shelly and Ellen then introduced Freddie to the crowd.  Freddie talked of her Christian faith and how she paid a personal price for her public support of same-sex marriage when she was asked to resign from her church.

Singer Chuck Rite from Los Angeles was up next.  He spoke of his struggles to reconcile his sexual orientation with the Christian music scene in which he performed until he finally let go of trying to please others and accepted himself for who he is.  He sang the Garth Brooks anthem "We Shall Be Free," with its verse, "When we're free to love whoever we choose, we shall be free."

Many other speakers fired up the crowd, including Christine Allen, Margie Wells, and the appropriately named Faith Whitmore, senior pastor of St. Marks United Methodist Church.

The final speaker was the awesome and inspiring open gay mayor of West Sacramento, Christopher Cabaldon.  Chris spoke powerfully of the struggle for civil rights and equality, and he wove together the threads of the work of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Cesar Chavez.  He pointed out that America had failed in the past to live up to its own ideals, as with the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII.  He talked about how his own Philipino-American ancestors joined with Cesar Chavez to organize the United Farm Workers, while standing before a statue of Chavez that graces the park bearing his name.

The rally then became a march, leaving the park and winding in a line that completely encompassed City Hall before heading a few blocks south to encircle the California State Capitol building before dispersing.

Petitions to repeal Proposition 8 were signed, email addresses were collected from many of the attendees, and connections were made that will be strengthened and developed in the weeks, months, and years ahead as we stand united in our goal of full marriage equality for all Americans.