Marchers in Long Beach protest Prop. 8
More than 2,000 demonstrators marched through Long Beach on Friday night, protesting the passage of Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage in California. Fifteen people were arrested.
The march started about 7:30 p.m. and within an hour had taken over Broadway, with protesters shouting and holding signs with such messages as, “Did we vote on your marriage?”
“They’re saying, ‘What do we want? Equal rights. When do we want them? Now,’ “said Katie Moravec, 30, who watched the demonstration from her house near Broadway and Gaviota Avenue.
At one point, police formed a human barrier to separate the marchers from a handful of residents who shouted in support of Proposition 8, which passed in Tuesday’s election.
“They were so outnumbered, we were concerned for their safety,” said David Marander, a spokesman for Long Beach, which worked closely with the event’s organizers.
The demonstration had largely ended by 10:15 p.m., but a few dozen marchers refused to disperse, leading to a brief confrontation with police.
By 11 p.m., 15 people had been arrested, mostly for refusing to disperse, Marander said, but overall the demonstration went “extremely well.”
It’s the third major protest in the region over Proposition 8. Demonstrations disrupted traffic Wednesday in West Hollywood and Hollywood and Thursday in Westwood.
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alexandra.zavas@latimes.com
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