A crowd of gay marriage supporters stood in front of the State Capitol on Monday, umbrellas in hand, chanting “equality” in support of marriage rights for same-sex couples.

Maria Ayala, a same-sex rights supporter, said she came from Fresno which is a very conservative town and joined other protesters because she could not sit at home and wait for something to happen.

Ayala said she has been with her partner for four years and hopes the California Supreme Court will not rule against gay marriage.

On March 5, the Court will review the validity of Proposition 8, which passed with 52.2 percent of the vote on election night, and issue its ruling 90 days later.

“We’ve already been through rejection when Proposition 8 passed,” Ayala said. “It would be another rejection from government.”

Mary Clause, a volunteer that provided first aid, said that anti-gay marriage sentiment is creating hate around Sacramento.

“I would be disappointed if the Supreme Court rules against gay marriage because they are supposed to represent the minority,” Clause said.

Rev. Roland Stringfellow, from the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion, led an invocation that said that everyone will one day be invited to the “welcome table” where they will be equal.

“We shall be the victors. Amen,” Stringfellow said.

A Prop. 8 supporter drove around the Capitol with signs on his car that showed his support for the same-sex marriage ban.

Organizations made stands in front of the Capitol, such as the Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Center that serves lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual community in Sacramento with events and groups.

Christina Dominguez, a Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Center employee, said she was trying to collect signatures to show that the center has supported the community to keep the programs going and get a few volunteers.

Dominguez also thinks that the state Supreme Court will not rule against gay marriage because they did not before.

“They upheld the law before. Hopefully, they’ll be able to repeal this and we’ll be able to get married again,” Dominguez said.

Darrell Steinberg, California State Senate President pro Tempore, strongly supported the “No on 8” effort, and said that civil rights should never be put up to a vote.

“You can’t deny love. You can’t deny people their happiness. You can’t deny the fact that the civil law must conform to the law of love,” Steinberg said.

Steinberg doesn’t see how the justices will rule in any other way because of the equal protection clause.

On May 15, 2008, the Court ruled that the right to marry without regard to sexual orientation is linked to the Equal Protection Clause of the California Constitution.

According to the clause, a person may not be deprived of life, liberty and property without due process of law, or denied equal protection of the law.

“If the ruling goes the other way, the fight will not be over; it will just be beginning,” Steinberg said.

Anna Willard, junior kinesiology major, said that there should be more events like the protest at the State Capitol.

“It really helps when people know politicians support them,” Willard said.

Catherine Robledo can be reached at [email protected]