Beth Fountain, a writer and former lawyer, questioned the dense language of the decision, in which the court essentially contradicted its position from a year before.

Like Fountain, musician Lisa Noe of the band Karmic Tattoo wondered why gay marriage could be “OK one minute, then it’s not OK the next.” And Rick Boylan, president of the Pinellas chapter of Stonewall Democrats and the secretary of the state Democratic party, pointed out that, even with the setback in California, the state is still years ahead of Florida in its recognition of gay rights: “We’re still dealing with issues that are left over from Anita Bryant days.”

More interviews after the break.

Not everyone at the protest was gay; Jack Crepeau, a volunteer with Equality Florida and Stonewall and a sociology professor, had just returned from his wife’s ultrasound; they’re having their first child. Crepeau’s sign: “Only divorce hurts marriage.” And Fountain’s sign — “Am I not a citizen?” — intentionally referenced the slogan of African-American protestors during the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike in 1968:  “I am a man.”