WORLD> America
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WORLD> America
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Hundreds march for gay marriage in California
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-31 11:05 Several thousand people gathered for the festive, boisterous event, some wearing wedding dresses or carrying rainbow flags, a symbol of support for gay rights. Theron hugged couples, pumped her fist in the air and clapped vigorously as she stood by the stage in the nearly triple-digit heat. "We need to get awareness out everywhere, and I think this is a good place to start," she told The Associated Press. McCormack, an actor who portrayed a gay man on the TV series "Will & Grace" for eight seasons, said he wanted to ask people who oppose gay marriage how it hurts them. "The gays aren't going to break marriage," he told the crowd. "Think about it: They're gay. They'll probably spruce it up and make it a little nicer."
"Usually you really don't see a lot of gay people here. Our parents and our environment don't let us do anything," said Zamora. The campaign's next phase will train thousands of volunteers and faith leaders to canvass door-to-door to talk about the issue with neighbors, said Rick Jacobs, chair of the Courage Campaign. Representatives from all 50 states will march on Washington on October 11 to coincide with National Coming Out Day, said Rick Jacobs, chair of the Courage Campaign. "We're not doing what we used to do, which is meet in West Hollywood," Jacobs said. "We want people from all 435 congressional districts to tell their stories in Washington." There were few protesters, although some skeptical residents were curious to see what all the commotion was about Saturday. Tom Johnson, 57, a disabled Vietnam veteran from Clovis, a Fresno suburb, said he had never heard of such an event happening in town, so he came downtown for a look. "I'm against people coming into our community with those viewpoints. I just can't accept it," Johnson said. "People already voted yes on Prop. 8. That's the law and we should follow it." On Sunday, Fresno's former mayor and a conservative Christian pastor planned to preside over a celebration of heterosexual marriage and nearly a dozen religious and social conservative groups planned a similar event in San Diego.
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