Thousands rally in support of gay marriage

NEW YORK, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- From New York to San Francisco, Minneapolis to Salt Lake City, thousands of people rallied Saturday to support same-sex marriage.

The demonstrations were inspired by Proposition 8 in California. Voters there narrowly approved the proposition, which reverses a state Supreme Court ruling allowing gay couples to marry.

In Minneapolis, about 500 people gathered in front of a large banner that read "Legalize Love," the Star Tribune in Minneapolis reported.

"From Golden Gate Park to Loring Park, we will step together until this battle is won," City Council Member Gary Schiff told the crowd, referring to parks in San Francisco and Minneapolis.

Bernie Bernbrock, who attended a march in Montclair, N.J., with his partner, Glenn Vatasin, and 7-year-old daughter, was one of 120 people rallying in the New York suburb.

"I don't think any one family is in any position to judge another family," he told The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. "It's not their right to come into my home and take my rights away."

Voters in Arizona and Florida also passed bans on gay marriage and Arkansas barred homosexuals from adopting or becoming foster parents.