This week's developments in the court battle over the legalization of same-sex marriage in Idaho have prompted Ron Vieselmeyer, one of the area's most outspoken opponents of gay marriage, to take action.

Vieselmeyer, a former North Idaho College trustee and former state representative, contacted The Press Thursday and said he and others are organizing a rally, which will take place today at 6 p.m. in the parking lot of Sower Bible Bookstore, 1234 W. Appleway Ave., Coeur d'Alene.

"We want to show our support for what the governor and the attorney general are doing," Vieselmeyer said.

A U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Tuesday lifted the legal obstacles to gay marriage in the state.

Gov. Butch Otter and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden quickly took steps seeking an emergency stay of the ruling, and early Wednesday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy temporarily blocked the appellate court ruling from going into effect.

Meanwhile, attorneys for four Idaho couples who sued the state over its ban on gay marriage - the 9th Circuit case which led to Tuesday's ruling - have filed court papers opposing the stay and asking the Supreme Court to allow the original ruling.

Vieselmeyer, a family counselor and vice president of Reach America - a Coeur d'Alene-based evangelical Christian youth leadership program which this year merged with Vieselmeyer's Highway Evangelism ministry - said he will give a short speech during the rally, and encouraged people to attend.

Through the years, Vieselmeyer has voiced his opposition to same-sex marriage, and homosexuality in general, in letters to the editor and other writings which have been published in The Press.

Most recently, he shared his position in a letter criticizing President Obama for asking the American people to support "people who are sexually different," in a speech the president gave in July, the day after a Malaysian airplane was shot down by a Russian missile, killing everyone on board.

"Regardless of our beliefs about sexual deviancy, this was a most inappropriate time to address this issue," penned Vieselmeyer, in the letter published July 30 in The Press. "...This president has a way of taking advantage of every opportunity to force his immoral sexual agenda on the citizens of America. It's time he stops trying to persuade the American people that same-sex unions are normal. Enough is enough!"

Jon Downing, of Coeur d'Alene, reacted to news of the rally with frustration.

"They are purposely trying to treat us...like second-class citizens," Downing said. "When you deny us our rights, you are treating us differently."

He said it's frustrating because being gay is not a choice. He has identified with it since birth, he said, and it's not something he can change about himself.

Downing said he thinks many people who are against same-sex marriage don't realize they are denying people rights granted to all citizens by the U.S. Constitution.

"We have to be treated with equal protection under the law," he said.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect a correction. Ron Vieselmeyer called The Press Thursday, not Wednesday as originally published.