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 Mayor Matti Bower joined over 500 gay rights supporters Saturday on the steps of Miami Beach City Hall to protest the recent passage of the anti-gay Amendment 2.
Now enshrined in the state’s constitution, Amendment 2 limits the rights of unmarried couples and endangers the benefits currently granted to registered domestic partners, gay and straight.
Holding up a sign that read We Demand Equal Rights, Mayor Bower joined the crowd in shouting “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Homophobia’s got to go!” as motorists passing on 17th Street blew their horns in support. Each honk elicited an appreciative cheer from the enthusiastic group.
“Despite this discriminatory ruling, we remain steadfast in our commitment to providing domestic partner benefits to our city employees,” the feisty grandmother of six assured the crowd. Mayor Bower also encouraged those present to register as domestic partners with the city if they were in a committed relationship. Over 300 couples have registered as Domestic Partners in Miami Beach.
 Babak Movahedi, Chairman of the Mayor’s GLBT Business Development Committee and owner of the popular Halo Lounge, encouraged protesters to stay strong and continue the fight. “I see the light at the end of this long journey. See the light with me. Let's pledge to each other today that we will fight together until we have equality,” Movahedi implored those gathered.
The Miami Beach protest was part of the Join the Impact campaign organized last week by Seattle blogger Amy Balliet. Television coverage of the spontaneous and sometimes violent California street protests against the state’s gay marriage ban prompted Balliet to set up a website to encourage peaceful public discourse. “If we can move anybody past anger and have a respectful conversation, then you can plant the seed of change,” she said.
 The Join the Impact website announced a time, date, and locations for peaceful protests: Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 1:30 PM on the steps of City Halls of all major cities across the country. Word spread quickly through social networking websites such as Facebook and Myspace and a grassroots effort materialized almost overnight. Ad hoc organizing groups sprang up all over the country and around the world to lead the effort in their area.
Within days of the passage of Amendment 2, University of Miami English professor Dr. Brenna Munro was approached by several students. Angry over the adoption of the discriminatory measure, the young people wanted an opportunity to vent their frustration and disappointment and bring attention to the fight for LGBT equality.
UM students Kelley Tighe , Lorena Fiori and Angie Villanueva joined Dr. Munro is creating a Facebook page and an email account to solicit support for an organized effort to protest Amendment 2. They discovered the Join the Impact website and immediately signed up as volunteer organizers for the Miami Beach event.
 Frustrated at not being able to generate any measurable interest from local LGBT political and community organizations, the group refocused their efforts on recruiting their network of online friends. “We called everyone who led the fight against Amendment 2. Some told us they didn’t want to be a part of the protest in case in went sour,” said Villanueva, a Communications Major who headed up the group’s media outreach. “One person even hung up the phone on me!," she added, shaking her head.
Joining forces with 22 year old Geo Bustamante, a self-described social networking junkie and Associate Editor of GaySoFla.com, and Waymon Hudson, The Bilerico Project’s Florida Editor, the young activists utilized the internet to communicate the event. They dedicated several hours every night between Sunday and the Friday before the protest posting bulletins, announcements, comments and blogs in hopes of garnering the community’s participation.
 Around midweek, the same groups that showed little or no interest in participating in the protest apparently experienced a change of heart. Email blasts announcing the Join the Impact protests from groups like Florida Red & Blue, Equality Florida and Save Dade began landing in the email inboxes of south Floridians by Wednesday evening. The Unity Coalition even organized an alternate protest at a gay bar across town for later in the evening for those who couldn’t make the national event.
By 1:00 PM Saturday afternoon, the University of Miami volunteers had gathered at the city hall and were busy stringing up banners, creating posters and setting up a make shift stage. They were filled with anticipation, excitement and a bit of trepidation. “After all our efforts, what if no one shows up?” someone asked.
 But show up they did! People of all races and ages, straight and gay, couples and families with children, men and women showed up in droves! With hand made signs, whistles and rainbow flags in tow, these people were determined to make their voices heard. Not content with just sitting and waiting for something to happen and eager to vocalize their anger and frustration, protesters began lining the police barricades along the street by the hundreds. Organizers looked at their watches. It was only 1:25 PM.
 At that very moment, scenes similar to that taking place in Miami Beach were being played out in over 300 cities worldwide, as an estimated 1,000,000 individuals simultaneously took a stand for lesbian and gay rights. The world-wide protests were covered by every major media outlet in the country. The civil rights movement of the 21st century had officially begun!
CLICK HERE to View More Photos of the Miami Beach Amendment 2 Impact Protest
 David L. Wylie is the Senior Editor of GaySOFLA Magazine. Wylie is passionate about creating an online media outlet that will encourage, entertain and educate the south Florida LGBT Community. Wylie hopes that GaySOFLA serves that purpose. He can be reached at David@gaysofla.com
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