Rally for Equality

I would breifly like to talk about the rally I went to today against Proposition 8, the California ban on gay marraige. The marchers went from the capitol building to Lafayette Park, chanting slogans such as; "1,2,3,4, love is what we're fighting for" and "gay, straight, black, white, marraige is a civil right". The protest was made up predominately of young people, and I found it very encouraging to see our generation so engaged in an issue that ultimately comes down to a group of American citizens that have been marginalized and treated as second class citizens. AU was well represented and certainly held up its reputation as the most politically active school in America.
The protest was very civil and along our path people seemed overwhelmingly supportive of gay rights. Many tourists around the Smithsonian took pictures of the march and we cheered everytime someone showed their approval. I greatly enjoyed when we ended our march in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, where people shared their stories of how they desire to marry the individuals they truly love. I found their stories inspirational and I definitely plan to continue to do what I can to support gay rights in this country.
I believe that this is one of the final chapters of the civil rights movement. Equality is a right every American deserves. In the near future, I'm hoping that America can put its prejudices aside and recognize the gay community as equal under the law of the United States.