Gay marriage backers throughout the nation are rallying for their cause on Valentine's Day.

In Chicago, the slogan “God Made Gay” was prevalent at a Sunday demonstration held outside the Holy Name Cathedral, the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. About 60 men and women rallied against the church's opposition to the institution, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Illinois recently approved a law that recognizes gay and lesbian couples with civil unions, but marriage remains out of reach for gay couples in the state.

Marriage Equality USA's tenth annual Marriage Counter Actions urges gay couples in states where gay marriage is not legal to apply for a marriage license.

“We engage in this annual event to put a local face on marriage discrimination around the country and render visible the discrimination currently enforced at government marriage counters in most states in America,” Marriage Equality USA Media Director Molly McKay said in an announcement.

Gay activists in Austin, Texas will hold a rally for marriage equality outside of the Travis County clerk's office at 4PM, the Star-Telegram reported.

“The time has come to press the issue of marriage equality,” Dana Cloud of the group Queer Texas United told the paper. “LGBTQ persons live and love like anyone else and deserve the benefits, both material and emotional, of the right to marry.”

Large crowds are expected at county clerks' offices throughout California, but especially in San Francisco, a city that in 2004 broke state law to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

Gay marriage was legal in the Golden State for a brief few months in 2008 before voters approved Proposition 8, the state's gay marriage ban.

“Proposition 8 shattered that dream [of marriage] for lesbian and gay Californians, and every day it remains in effect, real people are being hurt,” McKay told San Francisco alternative SF Weekly.