ERIE PA — A group of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and straight citizens will take to the streets of Erie to protest the passage of Proposition 8, California’s anti-gay marriage amendment, as well as other anti-gay ballot initiatives in Arkansas, Arizona and Florida.

Every day since Election Day, thousands have protested up and down streets in cities across California, including in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento. A national, grassroots coalition of LGBT activists have followed in their footsteps.

On Nov. 15, 1:30 p.m., in large cities and state capitals across the country, Pro-Equality supporters will raise public awareness of the need for LGBT equality in marriage and in other civil rights.

More info is available online at http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/page/Erie or at http://www.jointheimpact.com

WHAT: Prop. 8 Protest

WHO: LGBT and straight citizens of Erie PA and surrounding areas.

WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008 1:30 p.m

WHERE: Erie County Courthouse, 140 W 6th St, Erie PA 16501

For more information contact Michael Mahler at (814) 456-9833 or info@eriegaynews.com or Rev. Steve Aschmann at (814) 440-0902.

Some extra notes:

There is a wiki page at http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/page/Erie . A wiki is a web page that anyone can edit. There is a section towards the left of that page for supporting organizations. I put in those that had confirmed. If you would like to add your organization, and optionally add a link, please feel free! We welcome your involvement. If you don’t feel up to editing the page, and would prefer that I do it for you, just email me to let me know, and include the name of the organization(s) and optionally, a link.

If you feel up to it, wear red, white and/or blue, and if you have a flag or a banner (including the US or Pennsylvania flag), please feel free to bring it.

The city and county have been vhelpful in letting us set up for this. They did let the police know that we would be having the rally on Saturday. There may very well not be any counter protesters (since there have been rallies in Erie since 1998, I am aware of only 1 year that we had protesters (and only 2 of them), and they were pretty wimpy and pretty much wandered off. However, on the off chance that there are opposing folks, PLEASE do NOT engage them. We want this to be peaceful and respectful. If there are problems, the police are only a short walk away.