On Thursday, March 5, the California Supreme Court began hearing arguments about Proposition 8. Join the Impact Chicago organized a candlelight vigil on the evening of March 4 to draw attention to the issue. This was part of a nationwide series of such events designed to draw attention to what organizers feel is a critical testing point for the validity of the legislation. Similar vigils took place in cities like San Francisco; Santa Barbara, Calif.; and New York.
Approximately 50 people gathered at 800 N. Michigan for the Chicago vigil. Mathew Zaradich spoke to the gathering, emphasizing that “ [p]eople are doing this across the country; it’s an act of solidarity.” He also encouraged them to keep up with Join the Impact’s work and to learn more about the issues surrounding Prop 8. Following these brief remarks, people marched around the Water Tower park chanting slogans like, “Gay, straight, Black, white/ marriage is a human right” and “What do we want? Equal rights/ When do we want it? Now.” They also sang songs such as “Lean on Me” and “Down by the Riverside.”
At the time of this writing, gay-rights advocates were not hopeful that Prop 8 would be overturned. However, there is some hope that the court will decide that the marriages that occurred before Proposition 8 are still legal. For more on the California Supreme Court proceedings, see the Windy City Times Web site for updates.