While some 200 outraged protesters crowded around the Clock Tower in downtown Santa Cruz in reaction to Tuesday’s California Supreme Court ruling upholding the Prop. 8 constitutional ban on same-sex marriages, roughly 20 miles away in the Watsonville City Plaza, a small group of 20 people stood along Main Street yelling, “Honk!” at passing motorists and waving signs.
While some 200 outraged protesters crowded around the Clock Tower in downtown Santa Cruz in reaction to Tuesday’s California Supreme Court ruling upholding the Prop. 8 constitutional ban on same-sex marriages, roughly 20 miles away in the Watsonville City Plaza, a small group of 20 people stood along Main Street yelling, “Honk!” at passing motorists and waving signs. “Watsonville did vote no on 8,” said Aptos resident and Santa Cruz Pride organizer Cathy Andrews, alluding to the fact that while Prop. 8 was handily defeated in Santa Cruz, Watsonville residents were divided almost in half, voting “no” by a slim 1-2 percent margin. Nevertheless, the group received an almost continuous volley of honks, mixed in with the occasional stern head shake “no,” and one car that yelled, “It’s too late! It’s over!”
“That was so rude,” said 16-year-old Christian Barajas. “The Watsonville community is Hispanic and it’s Catholic, and I do believe religion plays a big part in it.” Holding a sign that read, “I DO Support Freedom to Marry,” Barajas said he had to work on his own mother as she waffled back and forth with her vote back in November. “I told my mom, I know that you were raised differently, but that’s not how it’s supposed to be,” he said. “I’m proud that she voted no.”
Councilman Luis Alejo, the darling of the Hispanic political scene and a long-time Prop. 8 opponent, dipped briefly out of intense budget talks inside the looming Civic Center to shake hands. He too acknowledged that attitudes have historically been very different in South County. “I think if you measured Watsonville 20 years ago, we’ve come a long way,” he said. “There’s clubs in school that make it safe to be LGBT now, we had our first Latino Pride last year, that was historic. That shows change comes, but slowly.”
Watsonville-Santa Cruz Japanese-American Citizens League vice president Mas Hashimoto, whose organization has long supported same-sex marriage, said he’s seen the change firsthand over the last 70-plus years as a resident. “Asians couldn’t marry whites, we had segregated schools in the Pajaro Valley. This may be the last great civil rights issue that needs to be solved,” he said. “It’s the natural evolution of what needs to happen, what will happen. I have high hopes I’m going to live that long. Sushi is good for you.”
