By Jennifer Glickel
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — Hundreds of New Yorkers struck a pose in silent protest of a gay marriage ban on Monday afternoon at the Empire Hotel.
The gay rights group NOH8 Campaign organized the photo shoot, which was the first in New York. At the shoot members and supporters of the LGBT community posed with "NOH8" tattooed on their cheeks and duct tape over their mouths to symbolize their voices not being heard.
"We wanted to come out and take part in the photo shoot and show our support," said Battery Park City resident Jeff Adams, who has been with his partner for 15 years.
"We want to get married someday, so it was a worthwhile cause to come down and support it."
Proposition 8 passed in California in November 2008 reinstating a prior ban on same-sex marriage in that state. As part of a widespread grassroots response to the bill's passage, celebrity photographer Adam Bouska and his partner, Jeff Parshley, formed NOH8 in Los Angeles as a form of photographic silent protest.
"We're all people," said Gabrielle Stubbert. "We have to stick up for each other and we should all have the same rights as everybody else. It's so simple and so basic."
The NOH8 campaign started with Parshley's Facebook photo and spread virally through social networks. Many participants at Monday's photo shoot heard about it through Facebook, Twitter, or by word-of-mouth.
There was a lone protestor outside of the hotel citing Bible passages in support of his view that same-sex marriage is wrong.
Pall Gale of Chelsea had his own opinion about the Bible-quoting protestor.
"I think if Jesus was here he'd have [a NOH8 tattoo] on his face as well," Gale said.
Darby123456 | March 8, 2010