Refering to his civil union with his partner David Furnish, Sir Elton John was quoted as saying by USAToday: "We're not married. Let's get that right. We have a civil partnership. What is wrong with Proposition 8 is that they went for marriage. Marriage is going to put a lot of people off, the word marriage."

Top: Sir Elton John and partner David Furnish (left). The Mormon Church is said to have raised an estimated US$22 million to ban same-sex marriage. Adherents who are usually referred to as Mormons are not a part of the Catholic Church or Protestant traditions. Mormons practiced plural marriage (one man to several women) in the 1800s but officially renounced the practice in 1890 although some breakaway sects still continue the practice today. Visit http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com for more photos of the protest.

The couple was in New York for Tuesday's for the 7th Annual Elton John Aids Foundation Benefit, just a week after Californian voters backed Proposition 8 - a measure to override a decision made by the state Supreme Court in May to legalise same-sex marriages.

"I don't want to be married. I'm very happy with a civil partnership. If gay people want to get married, or get together, they should have a civil partnership," John says. "The word 'marriage,' I think, puts a lot of people off.

"You get the same equal rights that we do when we have a civil partnership. Heterosexual people get married. We can have civil partnerships."

Meanwhile, thousands have taken to the streets and in particular The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (CJCLDS) near Lincoln Center in New York City on Wednesday night and at the Los Angeles temple of the CJCLDS also known as the Mormon Church on Thursday night to protest the church's endorsement of Proposition 8. According to media reports, an estimated US$22 million for the Yes on 8 campaign came from members of the Mormon church. More protests are being held on Nov 15 in more than 175 cities across the US. Visit http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com for more details.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights have filed a writ petition before the California Supreme Court urging the court to invalidate Proposition 8. The petition charges that Proposition 8 is invalid because the "initiative process was improperly used in an attempt to undo the constitution's core commitment to equality for everyone by eliminating a fundamental right from just one group - lesbian and gay Californians."

"Proposition 8 also improperly attempts to prevent the courts from exercising their essential constitutional role of protecting the equal protection rights of minorities," the statement read.

The ALCU, California Attorney General, Equality California and other LGBT legal groups have issued a statement saying they are in agreement that the state must continue to honour the marriages of the 18,000 lesbian and gay couples who have already married in California.

Gay columnist Dan Savage and Family Research Council president Tony Perkins debate the Mormon church's involvement in Prop 8 on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360�