Two events, two very different takes on Proposition 8
BY JORGE BARRIENTOS and FELIX DOLIGOSA JR., Californian staff writers jbarrientos@bakersfield.com, fdoligosa@bakersfield.com
At a busy southwest intersection Friday night, several dozen supporters of Proposition 8 greeted motorists with hoots, cheers and signs.
“I don’t think our laws should be changed,” said Francine Stubblefield, who waved and smiled at California Avenue and Stockdale Highway. “Marriage is a sacrament for a man and a woman.”
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Laurie John, right, and Alice Ragusa were part of a Yes on 8 group recently demonstrating at the corner of Stockdale Highway and California Avenue.
Chris Urbano (left) and Kevin Nickell chat at the Bakersfield LGBTQ booth at the Bakersfield Gay Pride Festival earlier this month. No on Proposition 8 was an overriding theme of the event.
A day later and a few miles northeast, hundreds gathered for the Bakersfield Gay Pride Festival. Rainbow flags and “Vote no on Proposition 8” signs lined the Bakersfield Museum of Art.
“If you love somebody, it shouldn't matter. You should be able to get married,” said 18-year-old Brittany Hunt, a Bakersfield College student. She and her friends, some topless, attended the festival painted in rainbow-colored slogans and art.
One wrote on her back “Marriage is a human right, not a heterosexual privilege.”
The two sides were out a couple weeks before voters decide whether to ban same-sex marriage through the proposition.
On Friday, Natasha Neville jumped around the corner twirling a bright yellow sign that said “Vote yes on Prop 8.” With almost every obscene gesture from a commuter, rally-goers countered with a blaring horn.
Ken Mettler, Kern County chairman for Yes on Proposition 8, organized the event. He hopes to have supporters out there every Friday until the election.
“Benefits are already provided to couples,” Mettler said. “We should do everything to strengthen the foundation of traditional marriages.”
Saturday’s pride festival featured booths from groups throughout the area handing out such things as lube and condoms, and some asking people to vote no on the proposition.
Jamie and Susana Garza, with Marriage Equality USA, handed out pamphlets. The two married in June and hope other same-sex couples can continue to do the same, Jamie Garza said.
Festival director Whitney Weddell said the event scheduling was “good timing” as she stood next to a booth where volunteers registered people to vote.
“These people with the vote yes on Prop 8 signs, they don't intend to, but they're slapping us in the face,” she said.
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