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Not Going Quietly

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The Associated Press

Published: November 10, 2008

SAN DIEGO - As many as 10,000 people took to the streets in San Diego and similar numbers marched in Los Angeles on Saturday to protest passage of an anti-gay marriage ballot initiative, authorities said.

Demonstrators began marching through central San Diego at noon, according to police Sgt. Diane Wendell. The event lasted about 90 minutes and was peaceful, with no arrests.

The march in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles began Saturday evening and lasted about four hours, said police Sgt. Jake Bushy. No incidents were reported as demonstrators marched down Sunset Boulevard carrying signs and waving banners.

The demonstrations were the largest of several marches in response to Tuesday's passage of Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages and overturning the state Supreme Court decision that legalized such unions in May.

A candlelight vigil in Laguna Beach on Saturday evening drew about 1,000 people and police reported no incidents.

On Friday, tensions flared at a vigil at Palm Springs City Hall when a supporter of the gay marriage ban carrying a plastic foam cross clashed with protesters, according to The Desert Sun. The crowd ripped the cross from her hands and stomped on it. Police made no arrests.

About 2,000 people gathered in Long Beach on Friday night and there were three arrests. A thousand people also marched Friday in San Francisco.

In Salt Lake City on Friday night, a crowd of about 2,000 chanted "Separate church and state" and waved rainbow flags outside the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which encouraged its members to work to pass the amendment by volunteering their time and money for the campaign.

More than 10 million Americans in three states voted last week to deny marriage rights to gay people.

With the addition of Florida, Arizona and California, 30 states now have constitutional bans on same-sex marriage. In Arkansas, voters approved a ballot measure intended to block adoptions by gay men and lesbians.

Information from the San Jose Mercury-News was used in this report.

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