Protests in support of gay marriage came to downtown Tacoma on Saturday.

About 150 people assembled at the rally at First United Methodist Church. They chanted slogans, held placards and waved flags as they marched between the church and nearby Wright Park.

Sherrie Orlob, a 57-year-old University Place resident, believes the passage of Proposition 8 two weeks ago in California is a setback in a larger struggle for equal rights for the gay and lesbian community.

Orlob, active with the group Old Lesbians Organizing for Change, was disheartened by Proposition 8’s passage; she has been waiting for years for the opportunity to marry her partner.

“It was quite surprising, maybe shocking. I really thought the country had come further – especially in California, which is a fairly liberal state,” she said. “For me, I never thought this would happen in my lifetime anyway. Every step we take is a step forward. This was a minor step backwards.”

Brita Barry lives in Athens, Ga., and visiting friends in Tacoma. She felt the need to come out and support the gay community.

The idea of revoking civil rights was morally objectionable, she said. Barry left West Germany in 1970 and worries about parallels between her native country’s past and the passage of Proposition 8.

“I left my country because it had such and dangerous and evil past,” she said. “I come to this country, and I find the same bigotry. And it horrifies me.”

The church at 621 Tacoma Ave. S. was decorated with rainbow flags and displays. Mike Collier, the chairman of the church’s social justice ministry, said it encourages members of the homosexual community to participate and take leadership roles in the congregation.

Collier said Saturday’s protests were “something tangible” the church could do to take a stand.

“We’re coming from a moral standpoint,” he said. “We have a responsibility to affirm the dignity of all human life. We want to make sure that our friends that it is our goal to be welcoming and affirming.

“So often, you hear the negative of the connotations coming from fundamental churches, so it’s our joy and our responsibility to talk about this.”