On Saturday, the city of Fresno saw 3,000+ marchers waving rainbow flags and chanting for renewed support for same-sex marriage.
"They staged the march in California's heartland to prominently demonstrate in a socially conservative region. Also, they wanted to pay "symbolic respect" to 1960s civil rights marches in places like Selma, Ala. "This is a revitalization," said Beverly Sankowski, 51. She said the point of the rally, marked by lively chants and rainbow flags, was to say: "We want to get to know you and we want you to get to know us . . . and alleviate some fears" about gays and lesbians.
......Swaying voters in places like Fresno, which backed Proposition 8 by more than 2 to 1, will be crucial to their efforts. Activists said they made a mistake by not focusing more on social conservatives during their No on Proposition 8 campaign. By trekking to this conservative city, they said, they wanted to publicly display their commitment to reach out to voters of all stripes.
"You've got to figure out what works in Fresno" in order to win a gay marriage election in California, said Robin McGeHee, a lesbian who lives in Fresno and organized the rally, paying for many of the costs herself. She said she did so after she was forced off the PTA and pulled her son, Sebastian, 6, out of his Catholic school. The priest was upset, she said, because she spoke out in favor of gay marriage."
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