Crowds gathered in Northampton on Saturday to lend their support for gay marriage and protest the passing of Proposition 8.

Prop. 8 was a California ballot initiative during the Presidential election that passed by a narrow 52 percent majority in the state. Overturning a decision made by the state’s Supreme Court in May 2008 to legalize gay marriage, it amends the California state constitution to solely recognize marriages between one man and one woman as legal. The passing of this measure has been debated, with younger generations especially opposed to it – 61 percent of California voters between the ages of 18 and 29 voted against the amendment.

JoinTheImpact, a national organization that says it is dedicated to peacefully raising awareness and gaining equality for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community, organized protests in 300 cities located in all 50 states and in 10 countries against the passing of Prop. 8. These protests, held at 1:30 p.m. EST, featured speeches by local activists and politicians. The organizers hope to bring the issue of gay marriage into the national spotlight as well as to “carry the message of equality as well as one that encourages the entire community to unite for this cause.”

One such protest was held in downtown Northampton, in front of city hall on Main Street. Despite rainy weather, an estimated 500 people, many carrying umbrellas and homemade signs, showed up for the event. Other nearby cities also held protests, including a similarly sized gathering in Providence and a large rally in Boston was attended by an estimated 4,000 people.

The Northampton protest featured a number of speakers, including the Raging Grannies, the Unitarian Universalist Society, and a group of drummers, who led the crowd in rousing chants and cheers. Although some of the speakers were difficult to hear without megaphones or microphones, they were able to excite the crowd, which listened attentively as activists talked about their own fight for civil rights in Massachusetts, a leader for gay and lesbian rights.

“I thought it was going to be all college students,” said UMass student Lauren Sheehan, who attended the protest. “There were a lot of college students, but a lot of people from the community. There were older people, people with their babies and little kids.”

She said the community at large seemed very supportive of the rally.

“People driving by would beep, and it was exciting,” she said.

Fellow UMass students Kevin Truong and Amanda Otto, who also participated in the protest, agreed.

They were surprised to see that the majority of the people there were adults.

Truong, who said this was his first time at this type of rally, added that there were large groups of bystanders, curious about the goings-on, who gathered on the sidewalks to watch. The crowd in general seemed very enthusiastic, singing along with protest songs such as “We are a Gentle Angry People.”

According to Truong and Otto, a number of people remained to continue the protest even after the rally had officially ended.

Like many similar protests nationwide, the rally in Northampton was organized largely via e-mail and Facebook. A total of 723 people responded to the Facebook event advertising the protest, indicating their plans to attend.

Kate DeVane can be reached at [email protected].