Prop. 8 Rally Planned at San Jose City Hall

The Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee is holding a rally Wednesday evening in San Jose.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision gathering, in response to the court's decision on same-sex marriage, is open to the public and will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 26 in front of San Jose City Hall, 200 E. Santa Clara St.

"The decision could mean many things," says BAYMEC President James Gonzales. "It could mean the fight for marriage equality in California is finally over and we then stand with the remaining states until we all have it. 

"It could mean we go back to the voters with the overwhelming support for marriage equality that we have now in California that we did not have in 2008," Gonzales says. "No matter what the decisions are, we will still have work to do moving equality forward."

BAYMEC, based in Campbell, is a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered political action group that represents the counties of Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Monterey. 

The Wednesday evening event will include speakers from local, state and federal elected office as well as the gay men's chorus, LGBT families and partners who planned to get married.

If the ruling is overturned, the county will not be able to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples immediately after the decision, said Santa Clara County spokeswoman Laurel Anderson. 

"The County will likely have to wait until the U.S. Supreme Court issues a final judgment and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issues a mandate lifting the stay," Anderson says. "This could take up to 35 days."

BAYMEC has been advocating for LGBT civil rights since 1984 and was co-founded by then San Jose City Councilman Ken Yeager and Wiggsy Sivertsen, director of Counseling Services and a visiting professor in Sociology at San José State University.

Yeager now serves on the now Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors District 4, representing the cities of Campbell and Santa Clara, and the San Jose neighborhoods of West San Jose, Willow Glen, Burbank and Cambrian.

"I am confident the time is now for marriage equality," Gonzales says. "The court may be making decisions today, but the people will ultimately make the final decision and we know that decision is recognizing all our love should be treated equal under the law.  

"Today's decision is critical to our community and our families," he says. "We anxiously await the fate of our families and have comfort in knowing that no matter what the court does, we all will have marriage equality soon."

—Sheila Sanchez contributed to this article