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200+ Cities, All 50 States, 6 Other Countries Participating in Gay Rights Protests

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Chicago, IL — Following a series of large protests that have hit every major city in California, gay activists have set today as a national day of simultaneous protests in over 80 cities and all states of the union.  Chicago's protest will be today at 12:30 PM at the Federal Plaza, corner of Adams and Dearborn Streets in downtown Chicago. (Event Details)

Although California's Proposition 8 vote prompted officials in that state to cease issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, it's an open question whether the California Supreme Court will confirm the ballot referendum. 

The court's decision will hinge on a legal technicality - whether or not the referendum language broke a vaguely worded provision of the state constitution that says that referenda cannot be overly-broad in the matters they cover.

Saturday's nationwide protests are aimed at pressuring the California Supreme Court to reaffirm its earlier pro-gay decision and restore the state's reputation as a beacon for progressives elsewhere. 

The Chicago protest is also focused on bringing full marriage equality to Illinois.

Last Saturday, over 500 demonstrators greeted Focus on the Family's James Dobson outside a downtown hotel, protesting his pivotal role in engineering the defeat of equal marriage rights in California.

Dobson's group reportedly gave $800,000 for California's anti-equal marriage rights Proposition 8, and a Focus on the Family spin-off spearheaded that effort. 

Dobson was in Chicago to receive an award from the Museum of Broadcast Communications, which has been criticized for honoring someone who has been so outspoken against gays and lesbians. 

Today's national protests are being coordinated through the website www.jointheimpact.com