Herstoric
12 Comments Published June 17th, 2008 in APB, Go hetero ally go!, On marriage and commitment.
Ruminations to follow. Today, a nod to a herstory-making moment in the LGBT Civil Rights Movement.
Whether or not you’re unmitigatedly pro-marriage, as an institution; even if you believe that federal rights and protections for all LGBT people would be best served by expansion of the federal Civil Rights Act to include us; even if you ultimately believe that all forms of family and relationship deserve necessary legal and financial recognitions and protections, it’s still hard not to feel this day as a movement milestone.
I do.
- San Francisco Chronicle online (SFGate) coverage, by Rachel Gordon: Couple of 55 years tie the knot – again
- New York Times coverage, by Jesse McKinley: Same-Sex Marriages Begin in California
- The Bilerico Project coverage, by Karen Ocamb: I Do! California Performs Same-Sex Marriage
- More Bilerico Project coverage: Special California Marriage Photos, with more articles below
- Flickr photos tagged with “Same Sex Marriage” and “Gay Marriage” (queer Trekkies ought to look for Brett White’s images of George Takai, best known as Sulu, in the batch from City of West Hollywood’s photostream – Live long and prosper, indeed!)
- Box Turtle Bulletin coverage, by Jim Burroway: Our Godmothers Exchange Vows
- People for the American Way’s Guestbook for Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon
- People For the American Way’s Myths and Facts sheet (really simple & useful talking points)
[Later note, on Wednesday, June 18: SFGate coverage of Day One around the bay: Wedding bells still ringing for gay and lesbian couples around California. Hell's bells, they even have a whole page dedicated to rounding up their same-sex marriage coverage. Okay, last peanut gallery remark: You know what I thought when I saw this picture? Yep. "Nice suit."]
Lesbian Dad is written by a parent who answers to the name "Baba" and works toward a world in which amor does indeed vincit omnia. 
Look at those two women in that picture, threatening my heterosexual marriage.
God bless ‘em.
I spent a lot of time today looking at the coverage of the same-sex marriages in California. I saw the beautiful photo in this post and, right after, a picture of protesters with incredibly hateful messages on their signs. When I considered the juxtaposition of those opposing pictures, I was more certain than I have ever been that love will eventually triumph over hate.
Huzzah!
And how did you spend the day?
Happy belated Baba’s day, we love the train too!
Looking forward to hearing you speak at blogher.
Ah, would that I could have spent the day in front of City Hall in SF, with a big bag of popcorn and some noisemakers. Oh, and everything the kids need to keep entertained/hydrated/fed/dry throughout the day. But I did hear reports from friends. And the beloved and I have an errand there at the end of the week. Ahem. So we’ll see plenty. Though I’m jumping ahead of my post.
Yay, you’re going to BlogHer! Someone I know! Kinda know! You know, this way kinda know. Now come to the “Is ‘mommyblogging’ still radical” roundtable chit-chat thing and help us be rockin’!
I’ve never understood why it mattered so much to other people. You want to get married? Get married! Who cares if your partner is the same sex as you – what possible difference does it make to anyone else?
When I was about eight months pregnant (three years ago), Canada finally made it legal. I wrote a post about it. I’ve put most of that below, here, because it still sums up my feelings on the subject – now, with a three year old daughter and a divorce under my belt.
Post text:
I’ve been surprised by how deeply this has moved me over the course of the last year. My immediate reaction when it first surfaced as a possible piece of legislation was simple and automatic: “Well, I hope it works”.
But as time has gone on, that simple thought has grown to be something more. Bill C-38 has become, for me, a measuring stick. A way to help me understand what I think of my country, how I esteem it and how I feel about being a Canadian.
I’m not gay. I’m your stereotypical married woman. I’m also pregnant, which makes me part of that group the Conservatives are ostensibly trying to protect.
But as a pregnant woman, I find myself watching this debate closely. The passage of this bill, should all things progress as they are, means a great deal to me in this context.
I’m due in August. By the time the debate is done and the vote has been cast tonight, I want to be able to ensure that my child, when he or she comes into the world, will be born never having known their country to prevent this right.
This child will grow up and live in a country without ever having to think of the right to marriage as a heterosexual right. No matter what my child becomes, no matter who they choose to love, I’ll never have to stand outside the gates of our government and shout for justice for them. They will never have to think of themselves as less than, or excluded from. Who they love won’t define their place in society.
And for that, if nothing else, I feel a stronger sense of pride in my nation than I ever have before.
It’s a good week to celebrate Canada.
My warmest congratulations! Well – I almost expected as much
When I heard this story yesterday from my mother, I was so hopeful. I really hope that more of these stories come out to prove to America and the rest of the world that love is love, and it is pure, no matter who. One day, the world over, this will not be a news story – it won’t make the paper or television, because we will all realise that this is nothing more than life and love in its purest form. That is my dream, and my husband and I will continue to attend the rallies, pass out petitions, signing petitions and helping in the fight for Human Rights. Thank you for this post, thank you for being you, thank you for having more courage than I.
I went to City Hall on Monday night and it was fabulous…crowds of happy people singing and yelling and drowning out the haters. Then I took my sweetie out to dinner for her birthday and the next morning we went to the San Mateo county courthouse and got our license.
I understand people’s objection to marriage — I also used to think that marriage was something I’d never want. But now I do want the world to know how much I love my wife and that I want to be with her forever, and I realize how bad it feels to have second class citizenship.
We’ve been emotionally, spiritually, morally, and happily married for three years, but now we can be legally married as well, and it feels great. Thank you, Phyllis and Del and everyone who spoke out long before us, and thank you Lesbian Dad and everyone who speaks out now, for making this world that much better.
Thank you, wyliekat, for sharing your vision and for having had it in the first place. It’s nearly always a good week to celebrate Canada.
Nickoal, we will all get on the other side of this — the larger battle, the place where human fellowship, compassion, mutual respect, and so on is doled out generously, over and across all boundaries separating us — with the work of allies. The minority depends not just on its own fierce determination, but on the moral and ethical vision of the majority. The justices did exactly what a court is supposed to do in a democracy: preserve the access to fair treatment for a minority, in spite of the pinched vision of the majority. And as to the courage part: sister, you never know what kind of courage you have in you ’til it’s drawn out by events around you. I am certain that yours is legion, it is probably just located in different places and expressed in different ways, as it should be.
And mazel tov, anotherothermother!
I spent a couple of hours Monday night looking at pictures of the Monday-at-5:01-p.m. weddings and being moved almost to tears a few times.
Wylikat, your comment reminded me of one of my favorite New Yorker cartoons.
Did I read right? Are congratulations in order? Good for you, if they are!
Here we are still unmarried after 11 years together and one child. It’s legal. I just don’t see the need of it, considering we already have a registered partnership. But once two munchkins are involved, I might reconsider.
We’re a bit haphazard when it comes to making those arrangements, which is somewhat irresponsible when you think of it.
That photo (or a variation of it) made me SOOO happy internally. I would love to have been there to hug them both.