250 Marchers Block Streets in Protest of Gay Rights Veto

About 250 gay activists from throughout Southern California marched Tuesday night in Studio City, Sherman Oaks and Van Nuys in the 10th day of protests against Gov. Pete Wilson’s veto of a homosexual rights bill.

Carrying signs that proclaimed “Wilson Lies” and chanting “Gay rights now,” the protesters marched along Ventura Boulevard from Laurel Canyon Boulevard to Sepulveda Boulevard, temporarily closing portions of the major thoroughfares. The marchers then went north on Sepulveda and headed east.

“All we want is the basic rights of every human being and we’re not getting them,” said Dawn Wright, 22, of Hollywood.

Tuesday’s event was a continuation of protests throughout the state against Wilson’s Sept. 29 veto of a bill that would have banned job discrimination against homosexuals. Wilson has said existing laws sufficiently protect homosexuals and that the bill would have set off a flood of litigation against businesses.

There were “some minor acts of vandalism,” Los Angeles Police Sgt. Christopher Vasquez said of the march. But no arrests had been made as of 9 p.m.

Although the marchers did not have a parade permit, police allowed them to march in the street. “Why start a melee over someone who’s just blocking the street?” Vasquez said.

Police were investigating a possible hit-and-run incident involving a demonstrator, Lt. Pat Comway said.

Activists said two people were hit in the face by rocks thrown from passing cars as the victims stood at Ventura and Laurel Canyon boulevards, where the march began. Blotting the blood from his nose, Joe Hall, 36, said, “There’s not too much people can do to me to keep my mouth shut.”

Police said they had no report of those incidents.

Marchers gave out leaflets to passing motorists and bystanders.

“We’re sorry to keep you waiting,” an activist said through a bullhorn to honking cars lined up at the intersection of Sunnyslope Avenue while trying to cross Ventura Boulevard. “But we want you to know how important it is that all gays get equal rights.”

Some marchers told of their fear of losing their jobs if employers knew they were homosexual.

“People are being fired from their jobs,” said Robert Gordon, 31, of Glendale. “They can’t say anything and they can’t talk about anything because they are in fear.”

Gordon, an accountant, said he made up a fictitious girlfriend in order to conceal his sexual orientation from bosses and co-workers. “I worried it might affect my job and I still do,” Gordon said, as he started to march. “But I think this is more important.”

Some drivers made gestures of support or yelled their encouragement to the marchers. Others were annoyed that the demonstration slowed or blocked traffic.

“This isn’t a good way of demonstrating, shutting down traffic and infringing on the citizens of L.A.’s rights,” said John Nelson, 50, owner of a Texaco Station at Ventura Boulevard and Ventura Place as he watched the marchers pass. “They’re causing traffic problems.”

Nelson also questioned the cost to taxpayers of the 30-officer police detail accompanying the march.

Protests have occurred almost daily in California since the governor’s veto.

Demonstrators staged disruptive rallies at the Federal Building in Westwood and the Ronald Reagan State Office Building the day after the veto. Following that, the governor was burned in effigy at a 2,000-strong rally in West Hollywood. Wilson was later showered with debris during a speech at Stanford University celebrating the school’s centennial.

Some of the protests have led to scattered violence and arrests.

During a march in Garden Grove in Orange County Saturday night, 16 protesters were arrested after they linked arms and refused to leave a major intersection. A counterdemonstrator also was arrested after he allegedly threatened protesters with a baseball bat.

Activists say the veto has galvanized widely disparate sections of the gay community, attracting some people who never before felt the need to make political statements.

The groups have pledged to continue daily protests, planning to march on the state Capitol on Friday. They also are set to boycott California businesses during the Christmas season in an effort to show the governor that they are economically important.