Rally for Gay Equality in Des Moines!

I found out about the Gay Equality Rally today headed by OneIowa at City Hall in downtown Des Moines on the east side of the Des Moines River.

Jimbo, in letting me know about Join the Impact, was responsible for me finding out about a rally coordinated through this direct action initiative.
Thanks JIMBO!

It was a cold and blustery day - temps held in the mid 30s with snow flurries and a stiff northwest wind at 15-25 mphs.

~250 people showed up (Bubba's estimation) for a rally at 12:30pm which was coordinated with other rallies described here:
Chris Crain
JoeMyGod
Pam's House Blend
"Homer's blog

The one in Des Moines was very simple and straightforward - notes below the pics to describe some of the highlights! Enjoy and GREAT showing from the Heartland. We have heard practically NOTHING about Prop 8 here in the Heartland. So it is good to see the power of direct action to bring together people.

I signed up for OneIowa as a volunteer and hope to get really involved in gay politics here.

Could HRC have gotten this crowd out on such a raw day?
I JUST WENT TO THEIR WEB PAGE AND NOTHING WAS PRESENTED ABOUT THE COORDINATED RALLIES ON THE FRONT PAGE- THIS IS INEXCUSABLE.

---

---

The venue in Des Moines - the East Face of City Hall - a quite nice building.

---

Turn around and you will see the Iowa State Capitol.

---

The West Face of City Hall where the rally occured.

---

The crowd out front of City Hall.

---

Some signs from the rally.

---

The flags were fluttering beautifully!

---

State Senator Matt McCoy spoke quickly (it was really fucking cold).

His point was that this is a long journey to equality. 48% of CA voted to support the courts and support gay marriage!

He was also clear in his closing words in a paraphrase below:

"We cannot wait on the majority to issue us full equality, we must be active in protecting and advancing the rights of the minority!"

---

Rev. Mark Stringer from the 1st Unitarian Church spoke at some length about his role in being an advocate for his gay brethern. His main concern was that most people who have contacted him to oppose gay marriage (he officiated the first and only legally recognized gay marriage ceremony last year) were religious. This deeply troubled him as a pastor. It fundamentally offends him that beautiful weddings and unions occur, blessed by him, and all that is missing is one little piece of paper from the government.

Money quote:
"Civil marriage is a civil right"

---

OneIowa volunteers signing up people!

---

KCCI8 - the local news station showed up and did a quick blurb on the news tonight!