The fight for equal rights for same-sex married couples continues in Nashville with the efforts of hundreds, ranging from citizens within the local community to passionate Vanderbilt students.

On Saturday morning, hundreds of people organized in downtown Nashville to lead a protest against the recent California amendment titled Proposition 8, the amendment to the California state constitution to define marriage strictly as a union between a man and a woman. On the evening of Nov. 4, the amendment narrowly passed with 52.2 percent of the vote.

Last weekend's protest was organized with the efforts of Nashvillians Carissa Williams, Marcella Nelson and George Oeser after they saw the Web site Join the Impact, which described the ongoing efforts nationwide against Proposition 8.

"This protest was planned very last minute, actually," said Oeser. "We all found out about this event taking place nationwide separately and had less than five days to work on it. However, it was extremely successful; we had a great turnout and an estimated 1 million people protested the same day in over 80 cities nationwide."

While the protest was impromptu, news of it managed to reach Vanderbilt students. Among the protestors were senior Kevin Duong and junior Alexandra Marcotte, treasurer and president of the Vanderbilt College Democrats, respectively.

"I was notified of the protest by the Director of the LGBTQI Office, and we sent out a lot of e-mails trying to get students to go," said Duong. "I drove some students down myself. We marched a considerable distance, starting from the front of the courthouse and ending up around Broadway. It was a great opportunity for students to exercise their free speech in less conventional ways."

According to Marcotte, the protest was very successful in reaching the Nashville community and Vanderbilt students.

"There were a lot of Vanderbilt students there - upwards of 20," said Marcotte. "The message was that there are tons of people who support gay rights, who support equality. The protest was great because anyone could go out and stand up for what they believe in. People got to vote during the election, and this protest just shows that you don't have to wait for one day a year to be an active citizen."

Williams said the protest was better received than she previously expected. Police were present and the protest was conducted peacefully.

"There was a huge crowd out there with amazing energy. There was a lot of diversity in the crowd and there was awesome support as we were walking through the street. People were honking horns at us and some speakers got hold of a megaphone," Williams said. "I think it's time for the community to wake up and people really are becoming more aware of these actions."

In addition, Oeser said he believes the protests are raising people awareness about issues such as these.

"People are beginning to see this as a civil rights issue," he said. "When we take rights away from any people in this country, we're diminishing what it means to be an American."

Students can learn more about Proposition 8 at http://www.jointheimpact.com.