Anchorage Daily News

Gay rights supporters waving rainbow colors marched, chanted and danced in cities coast to coast Saturday to protest the vote that banned gay marriage in California and to urge supporters not to quit the fight for the right to wed.

Crowds gathered near public buildings in cities large and small, including Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and Fargo, N.D., to vent their frustrations, celebrate gay relationships and renew calls for change.

In Anchorage, between 50 and 100 people gathered in front of the downtown Atwood Building holding signs in support of same-sex marriage. Some chanted “Gay, straight, black, white, marriage is an equal right. ” The group marched to nearby City Hall, then back again to the Atwood Building, which houses many state offices, including the governor’s when Sarah Palin is in Anchorage.

“No citizens have the right to vote away other citizen’s rights,” said organizer Stef Gingrich, in a later phone interview.

In Fairbanks, about 30 people showed up in below-freezing temperatures and stood in front of City Hall for about 45 minutes, said organizer Kristen Magann.

At the protest in Philadelphia, Karen Amico said, “Civil marriages are a civil right, and we’re going to keep fighting until we get the rights we deserve as American citizens.”

“We are the American family, we live next door to you, we teach your children, we take care of your elderly,” said Heather Baker a special education teacher who addressed the crowd at Boston’s City Hall Plaza. “We need equal rights across the country.”

Connecticut, which began same-sex weddings this past week, and Massachusetts are the only two states that allow gay marriage. A handful allow civil unions or domestic partnerships that grant some rights of marriage.

Representatives of Join the Impact, which organized Saturday’s demonstrations, asked supporters to be respectful and refrain from attacking other groups during the rallies. Seattle blogger Amy Balliett, who started the planning for the protests when she set up a Web page three days after the California vote, said persuasion is impossible without civility.

“If we can move anybody past anger and have a respectful conversation, then you can plant the seed of change,” she said.

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