Protesters rally at San Francisco City Hall against Trump’s Supreme Court pick

Women in “Handmaid’s Tale” costumes make a statement at the Unite for Justice rally in San Francisco. Women in “Handmaid’s Tale” costumes make a statement at the Unite for Justice rally in San Francisco. Photo: Photos By Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle Photo: Photos By Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Protesters rally at San Francisco City Hall against Trump’s Supreme Court pick 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

Local politicians and activists took the fight over President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee to the streets Sunday, rallying outside San Francisco City Hall as part of a day of nationwide protests focused on reproductive rights and social-justice issues.

Brett Kavanaugh, who was nominated to the country’s highest court by Trump last month, is a federal appeals court judge and author of opinions that would expand gun ownership rights and limit abortion. Confirmation hearings for Kavanaugh are slated to begin next month.

“Elections have consequences, and now with this Supreme Court nominee, it has consequences that could be fatal to the future of our country,” said San Francisco Mayor London Breed, standing on a stage across the street from City Hall beneath a large, purple banner that read “#StopKavanaugh.”

“This is a lifetime appointment,” she said. “One that we have to do everything we can to stop it.”

Breed was joined at the protest by Democratic officials from the area, including Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland and state Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco.

Hundreds of people gathered around the stage, cheering and waving flags in support of environmental regulation, immigrant rights, gay marriage and Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. A line of women marched through the crowd wearing scarlet robes and white bonnets, a reference to “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a dystopian novel and TV show about a society that subjugates women.

Deborah Stein, 70, of San Pablo, said she worries that Kavanaugh will help the court walk back abortion rights.

“When Roe v. Wade came, I remember feeling a great deal of relief,” said Stein, who said she had a friend who had an abortion before the decision and could not have children afterward because the procedure had been botched. “It is really a personal decision that no government should interfere with.”

Democrats have been trying to put off a vote on Kavanaugh until after the midterm elections in November, when they hope to secure more seats in Congress. Led by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-San Francisco, they have demanded to see all of Kavanaugh’s records from his time as President George W. Bush’s staff secretary from 2003 to 2006.

But Republicans have pushed back, saying the only records that are relevant to Kavanaugh’s qualifications are the rulings he issued in his 12 years as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C.

As that records standoff has played out, activists have been gearing up for protests on social issues such as abortion, immigrant rights, workers’ rights and LGBTQ rights. The San Francisco rally was part of a day of protests nationwide.

Blu Forman, 60, and her wife, Chela Zabin, 56, traveled from Santa Cruz to participate.

“I’m really angry and really sad,” said Forman of the direction of the country under Trump. “I believe our Supreme Court needs to represent all the people.”

In the weeks preceding Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings, his supporters have been rallying, too.

Kavanaugh, 53, has written dissenting opinions that would have allowed the Trump administration to deny an abortion to an undocumented 17-year-old and declared a right to own a semiautomatic rifle. He also wrote an opinion saying a president who considered the federal health care law unconstitutional could refuse to enforce it.

The antiabortion group Susan B. Anthony List, which supports his nomination, says nearly 500 of its canvassers have visited more than 1.1 million homes in states across the country. Both sides also have budgeted millions of dollars for television ads.

Zabin said Sunday’s wave of Kavanaugh protests should show Congress that many people do not support a conservative Supreme Court, in general, and Kavanaugh, in particular.

“I feel of all the actions Trump could take, this would be the hardest to undo, it could last for decades,” Zabin said. “I’m hoping these protests will sway some of the senators who might be on the fence about Kavanaugh.”

Chronicle staff writer Bob Egelko contributed to this report.

Cynthia Dizikes is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cdizikes@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @cdizikes