“After 10 months of planning and fundraising, the group gathered at the corner of Main and Richland streets for the seven-block march to the State House grounds. They hoped at least 100 people would join; instead, the crowd numbered more than 2,000. The marchers, led by Hancock and her son, Greg, carried 1,000 pink balloons, printed with a design by Greg that represented the discrimination the community faced during the Holocaust and the Stonewall riots. Two hours of speeches followed on the State House steps. The demands they made that day included anonymous HIV counseling and testing, the right to foster and adopt, the expansion of HIV prevention education, equal opportunity employment and housing, legal recognition of domestic partnerships, and the repeal of South Carolina’s sodomy law. For Hancock, the rally was more than a public demonstration—it was the beginning of a conversation.” - Columbia City of Women