Mailbag:

Although Proposition 8 passed, the battle is clearly far from over. I took part in the Marriage Equality rally Saturday evening in downtown Laguna, and I came away with two observations:

First, the Laguna Beach Police Department deserves recognition for helping make this peaceful protest safe for everyone.

We acknowledge that 1,200 yelling, chanting people marching down Broadway to Main Beach and back must be a pain in the neck, but the force was with us. Thank you, LBPD, for your help and cooperation as we exercised our 1st Amendment rights to peaceful public assembly and free speech.

Second, I felt proud and optimistic to be one of the throng. I marched with gays, straights, teenagers, soccer moms and dads, doctors, artists, lawyers, Realtors, women in tutus, grandmas, grandpas, families with babies and children, recent and long-ago immigrants — all of these people felt strongly enough about the civil rights of other Californians to spend part of their Saturday night expressing their view with others who felt the same.

This diverse crowd gathered because we all agree that Proposition 8 is a dangerous step in the wrong direction. Any measure that removes existing constitutional rights from a specific group of people is discrimination, no matter how its proponents justify it. Remember that racially mixed couples were prohibited from marrying in most states not that many years ago.

Further back, women could not vote or own property. And we all know what black Americans endured.

Progress is marked by difficulty and setbacks along the way, and Proposition 8 is a big one, not just for gay people but for us all if we aspire to live in a country that treats all its citizens equally.

BARBARA MCMURRAY

Laguna Beach

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Ashamed of tactics used in the election

Editor’s note: The following was addressed to the citizens of Laguna Beach, regarding current election climate, prior to the elections.

I returned from my get-away place in Idyllwild, where I had six days away from phone and Internet to find e-mail, news advertisements and articles, and unsigned letters that made me ashamed of this wonderful village, Laguna Beach.

They were filled with hate, untruths and exaggerated misconceptions.

Think about who we are as people of Laguna and what our responsibilities are as citizens.