Protesters rally, march against gay marriage ban

About 70 people rallied and marched from Capitol Hill to downtown Seattle today urging President-elect Barack Obama to overturn the federal Defense of Marriage Act and recognize same-sex marriages.

The march was organized by Join the Impact Seattle and the Queer Alliance Coalition.

It's time to "take us out of the sheets and into the streets," said Juliana Shadlen during a speech on behalf of United Peoples Coalition, a Seattle Central Community College student group.

The rally started outside the college around 11 a.m., and participants started marching toward Westlake Center at 11:30.

Representatives from gay labor organizations and the transgender community, as well as Iraq war veterans, also spoke at the rally.

Join the Impact organizers also collected signatures for a petition to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. The group hopes to collect 1 million signatures across the country and present the petition to the president on Jan. 21.

During his presidential campaign, Obama said he opposed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and supported civil unions, but wanted to let states decide about marriage.

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com