No on 8 supporters protest outside the Mormon Temple in LA, plan demonstrations across the state

(All pics: GETTY)

One of my first personal memories of the Mormon Church was when I first saw the Mormon Temple outside of Washington, DC when I was in college. The temple itself peeked out from above the trees alongside the beltway like something out of a gothic fairytale, and some enterprising individual had spray-painted "SURRENDER DOROTHY" on an overpass in reference to the Wicked Witch's castle in The Wizard of Oz.

A few years later I actually moved to Salt Lake City, and worked literally in the shadow of the mothership at Temple Square. I became friends with a guy who had been raised Mormon and who, after he told his guidance counselor at Brigham Young University that he thought he might be gay, was administered electroshock therapy. By his institution of higher learning.

The Church is incredibly wealthy and incredibly influential, and incredibly anti-gay. Their hand in getting Proposition 8 passed in California was significant, and yesterday No on 8 supporters called them out by demonstrating outside their temple in Los Angeles. And what's more, the mainstream media has been giving the demonstration considerable (and balanced-to-positive) coverage.

I caught Milk yesterday and while I can't say too much about it now, the parallels to Harvey Milk's efforts against Prop 6 are startling. They didn't take it sitting down, and neither should we. There are more demonstrations planned, the details of which you can find after the break (we'll add more info as we get it) with a slew of pics from yesterday's rally.

Here is a list of planned protests over the passage of Prop 8. For even more details, check out Towelroad.com.   

• Friday night, San Francisco Civic Center, 5:30 pm. From Civic Center (Market/7th) to Dolores Park. This blog is dedicated to the S.F. protest.
• Friday night, Long Beach, California: Friday, November 7, 2008, 6:45pm - 9:00pm, Broadway and Redondo.
• Friday night, Santa Barbara, California: Friday, November 7, 2008 Time: 5:00pm - 6:00pm Location: De La Guerra Plaza Street: [700-756] De La Guerra Plz.
• Friday, Salt Lake City: Friday, Nov. 7- 6pm @ the SLC temple. Join us and bring your friends! Fwd this to everyone who'll come!
• Friday, San Diego: This evening at 9pm community activists are urged to meet at Laurel & Sixth, then the group will walk to City Hall. Also, on Saturday at noon, gather at First & University in Hillcrest and march to 30th & University in North Park.
• Saturday, Woodland Hills: 11/8/08 at 4:00 PM. We will be meeting on the corner of Oxnard and De Soto Ave. in Woodland Hills, CA 91367 and will be walking to Ventura/Topanga area.
• Saturday, Los Angeles: Saturday 11-8-08 at 6 PM. Sunset Junction, Santa Monica Blvd and the 4000 block of Sunset Blvd.
• Saturday night, Laguna Beach, Saturday, Nov 8, 5:30 P.M. at City Hall
• Saturday 6pm, Gather at Sunset Junction in Silver Lake, Corner of Sunset Blvd. and Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles.
• Sunday, Sacramento, California. Equality Action Now. Capitol West Steps: 1pm-4pm Rally.