In the wake of Proposition 8 – the California voter-approved same-sex marriage ban – gay rights advocates have swarmed blogs, online bulletin boards and social networking sites to organize grassroots demonstrations and chart a new course for the marriage equality movement.

Locally, the San Diego Equality Campaign (SDEC) and the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (SAME) are among the organizations looking to take the fight for same-sex marriage in a new direction.

The No on 8 campaign has come under fierce criticism for its failure to mobilize voters to reject the ban. As a result, everyday activists are taking the reigns.

“The problem is that there is always more than one way to do everything, and we think there needs to be a different way,” said Lisa Kove, the strategic planning chair for the Equality Campaign.

SDEC was launched by organizers of the Nov. 15 marriage equality march in San Diego, which drew more than 20,000 protesters. At a post-rally meeting, SAME organized too – not knowing the Equality Campaign was forming simultaneously.

Both groups are working with Join the Impact, which also launched after Proposition 8 passed Nov. 4. Join the Impact helped coordinate the Nov. 15 marches nationwide, and mobilizes grassroots volunteers and organizations to stage demonstrations.

The local organizations have a common marching order: marriage equality.

“Our immediate goal is marriage equality, but if and when we accomplish that we will then focus on other LGBT rights [issues],” said Zakiya Khabir, SAME’s logistics committee coordinator.

The Equality Campaign’s goals are a bit more broad: to promote equal rights for all persons, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Sarah Beth Brooks, the executive chair of the SDEC, said the new organization focuses on advocating for marriage equality; repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the military’s ban on gay and lesbian servicemembers; and lobbying to include transgender protections in the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

While the SDEC and SAME include marriage equality in the mission statements, their structures are different; SAME is open to the public and makes decisions with participation and input from meeting attendees.

“[The] organization is determined and decided by who shows up to the meetings,” said Brooks, who also sits on the alliance’s outreach promotion subcommittee. “The meetings are public and open, and decisions are made democratically based on conversation and lecture.”

Khabir said SAME has between 20 and 40 active members.

SDEC, however, is an eight-member, closed organization – which has been a point of contention, and one of the reasons the two groups are separate. SDEC leaders say, though, that its structure is more effective.

“The purpose of a closed group is that we can make decisions quickly and that we can organize efficiently,” said Tiffany Ross, the Equality Campaign’s finance chair.

SDEC decisions are made based on what Brooks calls a “modified consensus.”

“Decisions are made if there are enough people that agree in the room,” she said.

To offset the closed board meetings, the coalition has formed a Yahoo! group online, so users can voice opinions and post comments.

“We still want people a part of [our group] even though the board is not open,” Brooks said.

SDEC also has a Facebook group and Web site. Including members of the social networking site and Web site users, organizers estimate the coalition has more than 200 active members.

SDEC promotes direct action events, or what Kove calls “high-visibility events,” like candlelight vigils and demonstrations.

These are events “that are peaceful but get the point across to let people know that you are serious and that you refuse to be oppressed anymore, and that you will not cooperate with injustice,” Kove said.

The emphasis is on visibility.

“We want to get out there, we want visibility. We want people to know that something is wrong. We don’t want to be the invisible gays,” Kove said.

The two organizations are planning the next march for same-sex marriage on Jan. 10.

The demonstration, however, will focus on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the federal law passed in 1996 that does not require states to recognize same-sex marriages granted in other states, and does not allow the federal government to recognize same-sex relationships as marriages.

The DOMA march is intended to keep the contentious issue of same-sex marriage on the national stage.

“When a conversation exists at the national level and it gets that kind of press coverage on a regular basis, that’s when public opinion starts to change; that’s when people start to examine their own beliefs and opinions. Without that level of public interest, we can’t change anybody’s mind,” Brooks said.

For more information on the San Diego Equality Coalition and the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality, visit www.gaylesbiantimes.com/links/1097.