Prop. 8 Fight Continues With 'Day Without A Gay'

On 10 December 2008, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) citizens and their supporters in Los Angeles made a statement for Equality as part of the nationwide boycott: "Day Without a Gay."  LGBT people were encouraged to take off work and refrain from shopping Wednesday for the boycott to show the country they are also a part of this society and economy.

The nationwide event was organized as part of a grass-roots movement to protest Proposition 8, which eliminated the right of committed same-sex couples to marry in California.  Word of the boycott was spread using the social networking Web site Facebook.  For the latest information on rallies and protests on Prop 8, please join the HRC Los Angeles Facebook Group and become friends with HRC Los Angeles on Facebook.

Participants in the boycott were urged to dedicate their time during the day to volunteering for various service organizations. As part of the boycott, a rally was held at 7 p.m. at the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and San Vicente in West Hollywood.  “The Human Rights Campaign will continue to fight for full LGBT Equality,” said Jessica Bair, HRC Governor and co-chair of the HRC Los Angeles Steering Committee. “In the face of lies by the proponents of Prop 8,  there's only one thing to do: Demand the Truth – and that's exactly what we will be doing in the coming year."

In 2009, HRC will:
- Respond quickly and forcefully to the lies and intimidation with media outreach and grassroots mobilization, as part of an ongoing "Demand the Truth" campaign;
- Organize hundreds of thousands of activists to pass the Matthew Shepard Act and combat the inevitable misleading campaign that will be waged against us;
- Work with religious leaders to encourage LGBT people to come out in their faith communities and create venues for the voices of tolerance and love;
- Continue the march for marriage equality and relationship recognition, especially in key states where new doors are opening right now, including New York, Vermont, New Mexico, New Jersey, and Iowa; and
- Work with the Obama administration to undo years of White House anti-LGBT hostility.