Protesters ask for equal rights
Jennifer Joyner
Issue date: 11/17/08 Section: News
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Some of the group met in front of the Arkansas Union and marched to City Hall, where the main event took place at 12:30 p.m. After that, the protesters marched to the corner of Dickson Street and College Avenue, where the protest continued until it was concluded back at the UA campus.
People held signs that said "straight grandmother for equality" and "how many kids did you adopt today?"
"For all of us, I think [the passing of these legislations] is a wake-up call that equality's not going to come about on its own; we have to stand up for it," said Rachel Williams, a graduate student in French who was at the protest.
"We're here to stand up for equal rights," said Megan Phillips, a senior at the UA. Phillips said she was at the protest to support others.
"People should have the chance to make themselves happy regardless of their beliefs," UA student Stephanie Phillips said.
Act I prohibits unmarried, cohabiting couples in Arkansas from fostering or adopting children, and Proposition 8 was passed to ban gay marriage in California.
According to the protest's Facebook page, Act I is a discriminating act, and "it's time that we step above the unconscionable actions of a community that denies loving homes to the children who need them."
"The implications of Act I will not be immediate [for UA students]," said Jon Schleuss, who organized the protest in Fayetteville with students Katie Simon and Anna Center. "Most students are not looking to get married or adopt children, whether they're heterosexual, homosexual or whatever.
"We're setting a precedent for the future," he said.
"When I voted for Act I [and against letting unmarried people adopt], I wasn't thinking about gay people, but I guess that's who it was geared toward," said Jennifer Massie, a senior history major. "I was thinking about a man and woman who live together but are not married.
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