Results tagged “rally”

       

Last year at this time, the gay community (and then some) lost their collective shit over the passing of Prop 8, a pro-discrimination measure that effectively pruned the rights of gay married couples. The passing of the anti-marriage confused and disturbing "Fuck Mormons" banner from his home, while blaming "middle class people" for Prop 8's passing(!); and this handy map of those who donated to Prop 8.

After today's profoundly disappointing news that gay marriage was repealed in the state of Maine -- alas, unadulterated hate wins again -- rallies will be held across the country starting tonight.

       

Flickr photog Tristan C was on the scene at yesterday's "Big Insurance: Sick of It" rally at Embarcadero Two sponsored by MoveOn.org, which was aimed at bringing attention to the Anthem Blue Cross' opposition to health care reform bill H.R. 3200. All captions were provided by Tristan C.

Hey there, did you know Iran is having some sort of brouhaha, and Twitter will single-handedly bring democracy, sunshine and gumdrops to the nation? Or something like that? Anyway, reader and activist Michael Petrelis writes SFist to ask the following. Ahem:

Scene from yesterday's budget rally to, like, help save public health. Read more about it over at SFBG.

Pro-abortion people, listen up: You know that doctor that was murdered this weekend? There will be a vigil for him (and for keeping abortion legal) tonight in front of City Hall, starting at 7 p.m. See, Women's Health Care Services founder, Dr. George Tiller, was shot and killed while attending church services with his family this weekend. A deranged lunatic, Scott Roeder, 51, has been arrested in connection with the shooting. Anyway, word has it that the rally vigil for Tiller is tonight. So, if this kind of thing is your bag, head over to the Civic Center area to voice your frustration. UPDATE: Here's the official Facebook page. (Note: Please don't put candles on the Lincoln statue!)

              

On Saturday, droves of pro-civil rights citizens and "hundreds" of anti-gay, bigoted types rallied in Fresno for an event called Meet in the Middle for Equality. Newsom wast there so was Charlize Theron. The Bible and God were exploited by religious zealots in favor of the voter-approved ban on gay marriage; and emotional speeches were given by real-life loving homosexuals, having to explain, yet again, that they are, in fact, regular people, not peripheral characters or wacky sidekicks.

Oh fun. Today there will be a slew of protests to mark the sixth year we've been blowing shit up in Iraq. Demonstrations will take place all over the Bay Area. At noon you can hear poets reading at the Montgomery BART station. At 4 p.m., Iraq Veterans Against War will "demonstrate their concerns" at Civic Center. And last but not least, the Raging Grannies will lead a sing-along in Palo Alto at Lytton Plaza at 5:30 p.m.

Scene from yesterday's anti-Israeli protest / Tristan Anderson rally in downtown San Francisco, which trumped an Oscar Grant rally.

         

Yesterday in San Francisco, a free Tibet protest march was held, ending at the Chinese consulate. The protest marked the 50th anniversary of the failed uprising that sent the Dalai Lama into exile. (It seems like eons since we've had a pro-Tibet protest, doesn't it?)

         

Thousands of marchers headed toward Civic Center. Buoyant crowd. Choppers, fixed wing aircraft overhead. More photos to come.

What with the "skirt creeper" attacking two more females over the weekend, the kids over at UC/Berkeley have decided to hold a skirt rally. According to Christine Borden at the Daily Clog, "the rally’s designed to let women 'feel safe wearing whatever we choose,' which is important considering that the Daily Cal states that the most recent victims were not wearing skirts."

      

Around a 100 or so people showed up at today's Bay to Breakers Rally at San Francisco City Hall. But numerous speakers (e.g., Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, former Supervisor candidate and progressive Alix Rosenthal) and loads of media turned out. If you recall, many fans of drunk jogging pitched a fit after ING altered the rules of this year's Bay to Breakers race. After last year's melee, a ban on booze, nudity, and floats was handed down.

San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi spoke to Matier & Ross about the new Bay to Breakers rules, telling them that "there is no reason to go this far ... Nudity and floats are part of the spirit of the race." (Does this mean we will get to see Mirkarimi unleashing his stuff come May? One can only hope so.) Mirkarimi district includes much of the B2B route. And while he's pro-nudity, Mirkarimi tells M&R that the booze ban is "probably here to stay." An anti-Bay 2 Breakers rally is scheduled to shake up the squares at City Hall on Thursday at noon 11:30 a.m.

Since more people have taken the time to air their disapproval (7000+ on one Facebook page alone, according to SFCitizen) of ING’s new rules for the Bay to Breakers race than have registered for the race itself, a rally at City Hall will take place on Thursday to add even more fuel to the fire. (God forbid SFist should tell you how to prioritize your battles, San Francisco. But, a rally to keep public pissing, nudity and drinking in a race? Really? Huh.) Citizens for the Preservation of Bay2Breakers will hold a press conference this Thursday at noon at City Hall. Not sure where Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi stands on this issue or if he plans of making an appearance at Thursday's rally. Word on the street is that he thinks ING went too far/overreacted to last year's problems.

                                 

Well, it was quite a weekend for abortion, wasn't it? The anniversary of Roe v. Wade brought out all kinds of fruits and nuts to show their support for either side of the abortion argument. One side being that a magical creature in the sky will send you to the big pot-au-feu below the Earth's crust if you terminate your pregnancy; the other being that there are too many people on the planet thus we need to find a way to get rid of a few. Or something like that.

       

The March for Life and March for Life counter protest are currently underway in San Francisco. Over 25,000 pro/anti ilk showed up today to voice their opinion on abortion. Here are a few scenes from the protest.

Abortion enthusiasts? Listen up. This weekend will be the abortion weekend to end all other abortion weekend.

       

Today's rally to keep the MTA from removing a bike lane on San Francisco's main strip went well this morning. Leno, Ammiano, Dufty, Mirkarimi, Campos -- the usual suspects were in attendance. Loads of cyclists too.

What with the holiday shopping (very little) and binge drinking (very much) we've been doing as of late, we almost forgot to tell you that there will be another prop 8 protest today. Please forgive our delay. Anyway, Valerie Paget and Tracie Jones, a Los Angeles couple marching across the state to throw shade at Proposition 8, will arrive in San Francisco today at noon. So, if the mood should trike, meet the marchers and rally at the steps of the California Supreme Court in San Francisco. You can catch all of the action at 350 McAllister, then walking with the Sapphic hikers all the way to City Hall. Also, today, December 19, is the deadline for Yes on 8's first filing in the Supreme Court case that will decide the constitutionality of Prop 8. Even more reason to go if you can make it.

So what's the deal with the next round of Prop 8 protests? Oh, we are so glad you asked.

       

While not nearly as exciting as Anonymous' cheeky Scientology protests, this little BofA rally managed to voice its distress with the banking company's lack of environmental consciousness. It seems BofA is, like, using coal to run their ATM machines. Or something like that. Who knows. But you can go here and here to find out more about yesterday's skirmish in front of a downtown SF Bank of America.

Around 150 protesters were arrested during yesterday's anti-war protest -- "a lesson on how to do it right," raves C.W. Nevius! -- during a rally that was, for the most part, a peaceful affair. Although a few hooligans hurled glass Christmas ornaments loaded with paint at San Francisco police, which seems a bit unnecessary considering how tolerant the police force here acts compared to larger cities such as Los Angeles, people were rather friendly compared to protests in the past. Scrumptious birthday cake, emblazoned with the message "Unhappy 5th Birthday Stop the War Now," oranges, and coffee were handed out to hungry passers-by.

The photographer being manhandled at around 20-25 seconds in is Luke Thomas of Fog City Journal. (Or so we're told.) Then, at the end, the camera operator receives a serious (and seriously questionable) smackdown by an SFPD officer.

Our buddies over at Curbed just received word that things are getting zany at Market and Montgomery, gangland territory for the messenger community. In yet another of moment of annoying and effective-free protest happening around the city today, cyclists and gimmicky Code Pink are currently acting up. Check it:

A small protest was held at City Hall yesterday by 400-plus pissed off Tibetan immigrants, honoring the 49th anniversary of Tibet's uprising against China, but also San Francisco's hosting of the Olympic torch. Just a preface of what will happen in the city next month, San Francisco will be the focus of a major protest since it's the only US city hosting the Olympic torch relay in the 2008 Beijing games.