SAN FRANCISCO -- In San Francisco's Castro District, people on both sides of the same-sex marriage controversy confronted each other on Friday night, as police tried to keep the peace. Proposition 8 passed in a close vote and eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry.

Members of the gay community said that almost every Friday night, a Christian group meets at the corner of Castro and 18th Streets. They try to convert gays and lesbians into a straight lifestyle.

This Friday night, the message didn't go over well. Some gays and lesbians reacted by trying to chase the group out of the Castro.

"Their rights were respected," said Joe Schmitz, an opponent of Prop 8. "They got a chance to go ahead and pray on the sidewalk and I had the opportunity to express my freedom of speech which is telling them to get out of my neighborhood."

San Francisco Police officers in riot gear formed a line and escorted the religious group into a van to safely get them out of the area.

Members of the gay community insisted that their reaction to the Christian group was spontaneous. "It was not an organized thing. We're tired of it. It's not religious. It's not a racial thing. It's about hate. We're trying to send a message across the world that we're standing up and we don't want this to go on anymore," said Adam Quintero.

Supporters of same-sex marriage plan on Saturday to stage a national day of protest against Prop 8. Some demonstrators told KTVU that they are planning on more than protests. They say they plan to break away and carry out acts of civil disobedience.

In San Francisco, the demonstration is scheduled to take place outside City Hall. Other demonstrations are planned in Oakland and Walnut Creek, and in New York, Washington, Chicago and other U.S. cities.

Supporters of Prop 8 include the Mormon and Catholic churches. They say the passage of the measure was the will of the people and that they are being unfairly targeted.

Don Eaton, the public affairs representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints in the Bay Area said, "The church only encourages people to vote their conscience. The church also reminded us what our doctrine is with regards to marriage between a man and a woman." He also said that some members of the church gave money to the No on 8 campaign, and they weren't punished by the church.

A non-profit group called the Equal Justice Society joined the legal battle against Prop 8 on Friday. It and the NAACP, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center and Mexican American Legal Defense jointly filed a lawsuit. They are asking the California Supreme Court to invalidate Prop 8, arguing that it takes away civil rights.

"People of color need to stand up for the LGBT community," said Eva Paterson of the Equal Justice Society. "We think civil rights groups that represent people of color say it's very dangerous for the California electorate to take away constitutionally guaranteed rights."