Organizing a wish list
'All We Want for Christmas is Equal Rights' is second grassroots effort by new ATL gay activists
By MATT SCHAFER
DEC. 5, 2008
http://www.sovo.com/2008/12-5/news/localnews/9520.cfmThe next generation of gay rights activists is awakening in Atlanta, and they know how to use social networking websites to gather a crowd to bring attention to their cause.
When California voters approved Proposition 8, which took away the right for same-sex couples to marry, approximately 1 million gay men, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people and their allies joined together Nov. 15 to protest at state capitols and town halls across the country. In Atlanta, about 1,500 people rallied on the Capitol steps in an event largely organized on Facebook, in chat rooms and by emails from an internet group called Join the Impact.
"In my opinion, Prop. 8 really was a wakeup call. It really was the face of the gay rights movement of this decade," said Jeff Schade, an Atlanta organizer for the Prop. 8 rally.
