The bitter wind chill did not keep Chicago's gay rights advocates from descending upon downtown's Renaissance Hotel on Saturday night to take a stand for marriage equality. More than 100 people gathered outside the hotel on the corner of State Street and Wacker Drive, chanting and waving rainbow flags and handmade signs.
They protested the appearance of James Dobson, the controversial head of the Christian organization Focus on the Family and an active opponent of gay rights. Focus on the Family funded and advertised for Proposition 8, the initiative passed Nov. 4 in California that overturned the state's legalization of gay marriage.
Dobson was in Chicago for the Museum of Broadcast Communications Radio Hall of Fame induction ceremony because Focus on the Family's radio program was among the 2008 inductees.
"The immediate aim [of the rally] is to call people like James Dobson out as bigots," said protestor Brent Holman, a member of both the Gay Liberation Network and the Chicago Coalition of Welcoming Churches. "Not in some happy nice-to-meet-you language: He's a bigot."
Many in the crowd saw a double standard with the museum's acceptance of Dobson's rhetoric against the gay community.
"The museum would never induct someone who spread lies about African-Americans or Jews, for example," protestor Sharyl Trail said. "For this city, which has a very gay-friendly reputation, to host this event is shameful."
Standing nearby, Trail's partner Lani held a sign reading "Know Jesus/No Dobson."
Her biggest problem with Dobson was his use of Christian language to exclude gay men and lesbians. "To misuse the Scripture and to misuse the pulpit is so against what Christ was teaching," she said.
Trail's sign was far from the only banner questioning Dobson's brand of Christianity. Signs reading "Who's Going to Focus on My Family?" and "Hate is Not a Family Value" could be seen bobbing over the crowd. Other protestors directed their attention outwards, with one sign stating "Obama: LGBTs Want Change Too."
Gay Liberation Network co-founder Alex Thayer sought to make sure the message would reach past the rally's downtown corner. Climbing up a low wall outside the hotel, he urged the crowd through a shoulder-mounted megaphone.
"We saw in California the very real demonstration of what hate can mean in our lives," he said. "The people in this hotel are not our enemies, but James Dobson is our sworn enemy."
Loyola sophomore Anna Schier, though, saw the protest in broader terms. "I felt like it was really aimed towards the public and geared outward than it was toward one individual. This is an issue that everyone should be paying attention to right now," said Schier, the secretary of Advocate, Loyola's LGBT rights organization.
Thayer vowed that Proposition 8's success in California would not deter the goals of the movement and even promised to expand gay rights across the country.
"Let's make Illinois the next state for marriage equality!" he bellowed at the rally's end, drawing raucous cheers from the crowd.
Freshman Marie Magner, also an Advocate member, was among those cheering for this goal. "I hope people take a second glance at what their opinions are and realize that gay marriage is really about love," she said.
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