By now, both the U.S. and international communities know about Proposition 8, the California legislation, passed on Election Day, which makes gay marriage illegal. After all the news coverage and huge rallies, though, there’s a lasting effect -- small rallies city-wide here in L.A., reminding us that this is a major U.S. event of 2008, possibly as much as the recession and presidential election, because of the human-rights angle and the irony of it all: On a day the country elected a black President, a groundbreaking move, a part of our country closed off both marriage and adoption rights for a large segment of the population. This has spurred a new culture of unrest in the City of Lights – small, frequent rallies are occurring all over town – some impromptu, some quiet, but most extremely heated. And fashion companies are getting in on it – Edun has made a T-shirt for guys that says OVERTURN PROP H8.

Latest iteration of the perpetual unrest hitting L.A.: an anti-Proposition 8 rally in front of the Mormon temple in Los Angeles. It was a small gathering, compared to a prior protest in Silver Lake that drew over 12,000. Protestors of all ethnicities, ages and genders, straight and gay, lined up along the edge of Santa Monica Boulevard in front of the temple. They waved sloganned signs: “WHEN DO I GET TO VOTE ON YOUR MARRIAGE?” “STR8S AGAINST 8.” Passing cars honked cacophonously in support. Journalists with large cameras paced behind the rows of protestors like caged tigers. Police officers stood sentry over the event.

A couple of men were gathered around a willowy fellow who had dark, close-cropped hair. He was holding a megaphone. He raised it to his lips. “A lot of Mormons voted against Prop 8. We need to respect the Mormons. It was the leaders of their church who got this bill passed. It wasn’t the blacks or the whites or the Latinos.” His voice had an Eastern European tinge. He paused. “What do we want?” he shouted. “Equal rights.” exclaimed the two nearby men. “When do we want it?” blared the megaphone. “Now!” shouted the small but enthusiastic crowd. That chant and others were repeated. The sun was brightly shining. This was the California we all thought we knew.

And then came the angry straight men. “Here come the Yes Men,” someone yelled. From the west came a handful of middle-aged, bearded and mostly overweight men. Each one wore a black or a blue sweatshirt. They stopped about twenty feet from the protest. Police officers hustled to get between these men and the main body of the rally. The bison-like men took their time to unroll their much larger, pre-printed signs. “HOMO SEX IS A SIN.” “ATTENTION SODOMITES: YOUR LIFESTYLE IS A GROSS ABOMINATION.” These men were the Street Preachers, a group that vehemently protests against gay rights, aka Yes Men (a person who voted yes to Prop 8).

Officers frantically made a human wall. A cup of coffee flew from the crowd and landed on a Yes Man’s sign. More insults and cheers were hurled across the policed border: “God hates Sodomites.” “Gay sex is a sin.” “Arrest gay thugs.” “Liberal women kill their babies.”

As I left, a man wearing a tutu and lace tights over jeans and a T-shirt was busy applying the finishing touches to his garish costume. Anti-Prop 8 slogans were sewn into his clothes. He looked up, tiara on head like the Statue of Liberty, and grinned.

~Josh Peterson