A line of protesters stretching two blocks marched through Downtown Albuquerque on Saturday to oppose California's gay marriage ban.
Dozens of people assembled in Civic Plaza before the march, brandishing signs with slogans such as, "You don't have to be gay to believe in equal rights," "Fight the H8," and "Better gay than grumpy."
Californians voted yes on Proposition 8 this month, amending their constitution to outlaw gay marriage, which had been allowed since the spring.
At Civic Plaza, volunteers walked through the crowd, handing out pamphlets listing Albuquerque businesses that support Proposition 8 and fliers encouraging protesters to walk away from heckling, threats and physical intimidation from onlookers.
Join the Impact, a gay-rights organization, used its Web site to organize the protest, which was part of a national campaign. The group engineered protests in all 50 states Saturday.
Rose Bryan, a law student at UNM, helped organize the protest in Albuquerque. Speaking to the crowd gathered in Civic Plaza, she said Proposition 8 was a discriminatory measure that denied gays and lesbians their civil rights. She then led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance and said America needs to unite to fight discrimination.
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Bryan said it is important for New Mexicans to protest the measure, even though it does not affect New Mexico law.
"New Mexicans can set an example for the rest of the country," she said.
Bryan said she was optimistic about the outcome of the protest and its effect on public perception.
"When you have a grassroots outpouring, that's something that can't be controlled," she said.
Rusty Smith, rector of the Chapel of the Holy Spirit in Albuquerque, spoke to the crowd and said religious organizations should not discriminate against homosexuals. He said all people have the right to choose how to live.
"We are given rights, not by a government, but by a god who created us," he said.
He said banning gay marriage violates the Constitution.
"That's what the Constitution's there for, to protect our rights," he said.
Proposition 8 passed in California with 52 percent of the vote. Florida and Arizona also passed laws banning gay marriage.
California law still provides for domestic partnerships for gay couples, which gives them many of the same rights as straight couples.
In her speech in Civic Plaza, Bryan likened this to school segregation in the 1950s.
She said people should remember the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, in which the court ruled that separate institutions were, by definition, unequal.
In California, advocacy groups spent a total of $73 million on campaigns for and against the measure - a record amount for a ballot measure on a social issue, according to the New York Times.
Sara Minnick-Lujan, who marched in the rally with her partner, said she is married to a woman and would like her marriage to be recognized by the law.
"We had a wedding seven years ago, and it would be nice to have it be legal," she said.
Minnick-Lujan said a lot of people in California support gay marriage but voted yes for the amendment without realizing exactly what it did.
"I think they disorient people in the wording of it," she said. "It's confusing."
Minnick-Lujan said marriage is a basic right and that it is natural for all people to be allowed to marry freely.
"We shouldn't have to protest this," she said.
Andrew Turner, co-chairman of UNM's Queer Straight Alliance, said he attended the rally because Proposition 8 discriminates against the gay community.
"They're putting down gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people," he said.
He said UNM students should rally against Proposition 8 because protests have the power to send a message to the nation.
"By the protest, since it happened in 50 states, we're showing the nation they can't put us down," he said.
