One year ago this week, marriage equality advocates in San Francisco and around the country were shocked by the passage of Proposition 8, which eliminated same-sex couples' right to marry in California.

In the weeks after the measure passed with 52 percent of the vote, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to express their agony and anger. Last month a march for LGBT equality in Washington, D.C. drew an estimated 100,000 people.

This week, interfaith services were held around the state in advance of the vote in Maine and to mark the passage of Prop 8.

In Oakland, about 75 people gathered at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church Monday, November 2 for a service of song and reflection. The Reverend Roland Stringfellow talked about "people whose hearts are broken."

"I need to still catch my breath, even a year later," he said.

"We will move forward steadfastly, we will move forward with humor, we will move forward with humility and hope," said Andrea Shorter, Equality California's deputy director for marriage equality and coalition building.

Since the rallies of last year, however, the streets have mostly become quiet. But many people are working on restoring marriage equality in California, though there is no consensus of when to return to the ballot. This summer, EQCA said that it was waiting until 2012 for such an effort.

"There's a huge sleeping giant right now ... of people who don't know that it's possible to repeal Prop 8 in 2010, and we're going to tell them it's possible," said John Henning, executive director of Love Honor Cherish, which has submitted ballot language to repeal Prop 8 in November 2010. "We feel there will be a huge amount of energy that will come when people realize that."

Henning added, "The average person is looking for something concrete to do, and when the signature forms are out there, that's going to be the thing to do."

Proponents submitted five mostly similar versions of the ballot proposal to the attorney general's office for approval. Henning said after submissions are approved, backers of the repeal effort would announce which version they decide to distribute for signature gathering.

The attorney general's office has until mid-November to approve the submissions for title and summary. If the proposed language is approved, petition circulation may begin November 17. After that, there will be 150 days to gather the 694,354 valid signatures needed to get the proposal on the ballot.

An estimated 1 million signatures likely will be gathered, however, to ensure that the minimum number of valid signatures is submitted.

Backers and opponents of marriage equality raised more than $80 million altogether during the battle over Prop 8 last year.

Henning said last week that he didn't know how much money Love Honor Cherish has raised, and said the group probably wouldn't disclose the amount until it is required to do so by campaign disclosure rules.

Second effort

Eric Ross, a delegate for the San Francisco and Monterey bay areas for the Restore Equality 2010 coalition, said that the coalition's interim administrative group has been creating town halls statewide to elect more regional representatives. Ross said that regional representatives are establishing hubs to act as central locations for signature gathering efforts.

The Restore Equality 2010 group is separate from Love Honor Cherish, although it includes people from that organization.

The Restore Equality delegates are also to select a board to oversee the statewide signature gathering campaign efforts.

The coalition's interim administrative group has been finalizing formation of a political action committee and will be the central campaign organization and fundraising body for the signature gathering effort.

On Wednesday, November 4, Restore Equality 2010 and other groups were also set to announce their "Million for a Million," campaign, with the goal of raising $1 million.

There will be a kickoff party for people to learn more about the 2010 repeal campaign and meet Restore Equality regional representatives at Stanford University on November 12 at 7 p.m. at 459 Lagunita Dr., Suite #9 (the Firetruck House). For more information, e-mail Jeffrey Taylor at mailto:Jeffrey@restoreequality2010.com.

Changes

Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, was a member of the No on 8 executive committee last year. After the vote and subsequent criticism of the No on 8 campaign, Kendell said that she would not be involved in any future ballot fight in the state.

So far, she has kept that commitment.

But Kendell said that from her perspective, there's been "an unprecedented level of dialogue and visibility" since last year.

The passage of Prop 8, and other recent events such as the fight for marriage equality in Maine, "coupled with the both the proactive steps of the Obama administration and the disappointment in the pace of those steps has really made ... LGBT folks much more engaged and personally involved than I've ever seen before," she said.

Other groups, such as EQCA, have ramped up efforts this year to build coalitions. One of the main criticisms of the No on 8 campaign was that it largely ignored faith communities and people of color.

"Clearly, there's still work to be done in terms of more direct outreach ...," Shorter said.

However, Shorter, who joined EQCA after the election, said that the Equality California Institute has re-launched its Let California Ring public education campaign about marriage equality that focuses on communities of color and faith-based communities. EQCA is in the process of raising millions of dollars for that project.