Dec 9, 2008 6:25 pm US/Eastern
Supporters Stage "Day Without A Gay" On Wednesday
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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More than 4,000 people rallied on Boston's City Hall Plaza to protest California's vote to ban gay marriage.
CBS
Supporters of gay rights and same sex marriage are urging gays and lesbians to "call in gay" on Wednesday.
Organizers of Day Without A Gay encourage all gays and lesbians to skip work, not spend any money and perform volunteer work. Scheduled to coincide with International Human Rights Day, Day Without A Gay is modeled after the 2006 Great American Boycott organized by Latino immigrants.
The day is the brain child of California comedian Sean Hetherington and his partner Aaron Hartzler who came up with it after reading about a few angry gay-rights activists who called for a day-long strike to protest California voters' passage last month of Proposition 8, which reversed the state's Supreme Court decision to allow gay marriage. A similar proposition was passed in Florida. To make the day less divisive, Hetherington and Hartzler came up with the community service angle.
The idea gained strength online and supporters, who launched protests last month over the passage of gay marriage bans in California, Florida and Arizona, have urged people to withdraw $80 from their bank accounts Wednesday to demonstrate their spending power and to devote the time they might otherwise spend watching TV to do volunteer work.
Gay rights activists in South Florida say activism is on the rise. "I think ultimately what people are understanding is that hey, wait, this is not just a gay and lesbian issue," Save Dade spokesman CJ Ortuno told CBS4 Reporter Michael Williams. "This is something that is about equality. And ultimately if I don't stand up to fight up for these individuals' rights, who's going to stand up for my rights down the road?
Robert Cartwright is a stylist at a Lincoln Road salon. He's worried about Amendment 2 and it's effective ban on gay marriage in Florida. More importantly, he wants to know what that means for him and his partner. "So I mean, what's going to happen with the people who have domestic partnership and they have insurance through that?"
Miami Beach commissioners may renew their voice in that debate Wednesday; they're expected to reaffirm the city's domestic partnership policy for city employees, which allows for insurance coverage for a partner among other benefits.
Click Here to learn more about Day Without A Gay.
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