Protesters 'light up' Loop

Amid throngs of holiday shoppers, community members gathered Dec. 20 outside the Macy's on State Street to protest recent setbacks to LGBT rights, particularly California's anti-same-sex-marriage measure, Proposition 8. Between several large rainbow flags, participants in "Light Up the Night for Equality" used candles and signs to draw passersby into conversations about current challenges facing LGBT individuals, including various marriage and adoption bans, and the selection of anti-gay pastor Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration.

Beneath the department store's famous golden trumpets, roughly 40 people stood quietly to get their message across. Matty Zaradich, among the protesters, wanted to remind shoppers that, given the current state of gay rights, "Not everybody is having a great holiday season." His friend Kourtney Lowe concurred, characterizing marriage inequality as "totally unfair."

"This is a human-rights issue," Lowe said.

"Light Up the Night for Equality," a national event held simultaneously across the country in heavily trafficked shopping areas, was sponsored by Join the Impact. Local event organizers Corrine Mina and Nik Maciejewski said that the protest was meant to build on the momentum realized in the National Day of Action that took place Nov. 15, which mobilized hundreds of thousands of people across the country to protest marriage inequality. They hope to carry this momentum into an upcoming general meeting to be held Jan. 17. Though the location is not yet confirmed, more information will be forthcoming at the group's Web site, www.jointheimpact.com.