Prop 8 protest at Mormon Church in LA

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Gay rights activists gathered Thursday outside a Mormon temple in Los Angeles to protest the church's role in repealing same-sex marriage in California.

Police estimates of the size of the crowd ranged from 500 to 3,000, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The demonstration was mostly peaceful, police said. Seven people were arrested Wednesday night at protests in Hollywood and West Hollywood.

Proposition 8, which passed Tuesday, amended the California constitution to reverse a California Supreme Court decision that laws against gay marriage were unconstitutional. Thousands of same-sex couples have been married in the state in recent months and their legal status is unclear.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints played an active part in funding and campaigning for Proposition 8.

Mark Pelekakis called the vote "a punch in the gut." He said he and his longtime partner were married in February 2004, during a brief period when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom issued licenses to same-sex couples and again in August, following the court ruling.

"Our rights are so fragile," Pelekakis said. "It's a slippery slope. What minority group will go next?"

At least three legal challenges to Prop 8 have been filed in California courts.