San Francisco;
A daylong work stoppage during which employees were encouraged to "Call in Gay" to express support for same sex marrisge drew spotty participation nation wide Wednesday 12-10-08 with some gayrights activists praising the concept but questioning its effect.
In San Francisco's gay Castro district, Residents and merchants said they endorsed the message behind "Day Without a Gay" but didn't think a work stoppage was practical given the poor economy and the strikes organization.
"If we are going to make a huge impact and not be laughed at, then we have to take the time and make the time to communicate with all the parties. We could have shut down a lot of the hotels" said David Lang, a San Francisco gymnastics coach.
In theory it's a great idea, but it's being done wrong and now that it's been done wrong I don't think it will be done again.
The protest, which a gay couple from West Hollywood organized through the internet, was designed to demonstrate the economic clout of same sex marriage supporters following the passage of voter approved gay marriage bans in California, Arizona, and Florida last month.
Participants were asked to refrain from spending money or at least to patronize gay friendly business for the day.
Out and Equal Workplace Advocates, a San Francisco based nonprofit group that promotes equality for gay and lesbian employees suggested that gay marriage supporters could send an effective message beyond Wednesday by openly discussing the issue at their workplace.
When people go into the voting booth and vote against gay rights they often have no idea they are voting against the person next to them in the next cubicle or office,said Selisse Berry Out and Equal's executive director
Berry noted that only 20 states have laws to protect workers from being fired for being homosexual making lesbians and gays reluctant to reveal themselves to coworkers in most jurisdictions.
Constantly lying about our weekends at the water cooler or changing pronouns that takes up so much energy that we could be putting into our jobs
Participants who opted to take the day off from their jobs were encouraged to preform community service and charitable organizations across the country said volunteers showed up.
