including hundreds of protesters outside an Orange County megachurch whose pastor brought Barack Obama and John McCain together last summer for a “faith forum.”
Ed Todeschini, a Human Rights Campaign volunteer, accused Saddleback in particular of helping propagate what he called misinformation about the Supreme Court ruling, including that gay marriage would have to be taught to kindergartners.
A message seeking comment left at the church’s main office, which was closed Sunday, was not immediately returned.
“They told such obvious lies. They used their lies to deceive the public,” Todeschini said of the church, which gained national attention in August when its pastor, Rick Warren, brought Obama and McCain together to discuss their religious faith. The two candidates embraced during an often-contentious presidential campaign.
Todeschini said Sunday’s rally was peaceful, with demonstrators waving placards with slogans including “Equality for all” and “Shame on you.”
The amendment was passed last week with 52 percent of the vote, and backlash at churches over their support swept across California on Sunday after days of protests.
In Oakland, a large protest at the city’s Mormon temple led the California Highway Patrol to close two highway ramps to ensure pedestrian safety. Protest organizers said they hoped to tone down the anger that has characterized some previous demonstrations.
“Our intent is not to disturb churchgoers,” organizer Tim DeBenedictis said in a statement. “Our goal is to mend fences and build bridges so that all Californians can achieve marriage equality under the law.”
The pastor of the 4,000-member All Saints Church in Pasadena spoke out against Proposition 8, calling the religious community’s support of it “embarrassing.”
The church announced that while it could no longer legally marry same-sex couples, it would continue blessing gay civil unions.
“It’s very unfortunate and embarrassing that the (Christian religion) is in large part responsible for this act of bigotry,” the Rev. Ed Bacon said after his sermon.
In Sacramento, a protest at the state Capitol was boisterous but peaceful as speakers led the crowd in noisy chants. Protesters waved rainbow flags, a symbol of the gay rights movement, and “No on 8” signs as police watched from the side.
Speaking on CNN’s “Late Edition” Sunday, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed disappointment at Proposition 8’s passage.
“It is unfortunate,” Schwarzenegger said. “But it is not the end because I think this will go back into the courts. … It’s the same as in the 1948 case when blacks and whites were not allowed to marry. This falls into the same category.”
The \”no\” vote against Proposition 8 was a reflection of the fears which haunt the minds of many churchgoers, especially those who attend the more \”conservative\” Christian churches.
For many \”conservative Christians\”, both white and black, the various changes which are wracking society are viewed as dangerous and terrifying, especially when it comes to those things which threaten the most powerful symbol in the world: the family.
In their minds, the family is in grave danger because of these massive societal changes, and as far as they are concerned, gay marriage threatens the \”traditional\” family, because a same-sex union is, in their words, \”unfruitful\”, and a same-sex marriage will do nothing to increase the population of the nation.
And in the end, that\’s what it\’s all about — increasing the nation\’s population at a time when it appears that America\’s population (in the perview of many white conservative Christians, and a few black conservative Christians) is collapsing, and the organized effort by churches to make sure Proposition 8 never saw the light of day was a triumph of fears about a perceived \”population collapse\” over the demonstration of genuine Christian love toward those who are \”different\” than one\’s self.