PORTLAND, Ore. -- Supporters of gay marriage rallied in Portland Saturday as part of a national protest touched off by a California measure against it.

Among the early speakers was the city's outgoing mayor, Tom Potter, the city's former police chief whose daughter is a lesbian.

Potter joked that he was just "a warm-up act" for the mayor-elect, Sam Adams, who is gay.

He told the crowd that "we cannot stay home. We cannot stay silent, We cannot say this is acceptable in the United States of America — in any state."

The rally was expected to last into the afternoon. Rallies were scheduled in other Oregon cities.

Oregonians have outlawed gay marriage, but the Legislature has approved of civil unions with most of the benefits of marriage.