RollerCoast

Anniversary: San Francisco Winter of Love

It's been 2 years since the typical Marriage Equality Valentine's Day protest at San Francisco City Hall turned into actual wedding ceremonies to everyone's surprise. My spouse, Clove & I were one of those couples, jumping immediately on a cross country flight from NYC, traveling 3,000 miles to take part on February 16th- President's Day.

Today all the news media can say is that the issue is hotly "debated", i.e. "was it good or was it bad for gay civil rights?" See the sfgate's lame coverage for example. Like the backlash against our civil liberties wasn't occurring rampantly that winter & hasn't been on the right's agenda for years. Has the media so easily forgotten Bush's State of the Union address '04 & his vow to alter the Constitution in order to ban gay marriage forever? Mayor Newsom, who was present for the speech, has not forgotten. Speaking of the federal constitution same-sex marriage ban, Sen. Frist has another vote on it scheduled for this June.

When we boarded the plane that day, we knew it would shake down this way. We knew the marriages would ultimately be annulled, that the civil disobedience would galvanize the radical right & be labeled as "too soon" by the very Democrats we put in office (see Di Fi among others). This was of no surprise. What was surprising was the way it felt to be married that day and the realization that this simple civil ceremony at San Francisco City Hall had changed our lives forever.

Neither of us was prepared for the unmitigated joy. The feeling that all of San Francisco shared in the event from the excitement of the "straight?" folks at the Hertz rent-a-car down to the beneficient pizza deliveries by local pizzerias that arrived throughout the night. Huddled together that night in the pouring rain, we were treated to the delivery of warm food & blankets, whiskey, stools, magazines--survival supplies. The next morning flower bouquets arrived enmasse sent from people all over the country to country to couples they had never met waiting in line to be married. Ours read, "from a grandmother in the Midwest who loves you." No one can take this moment from us. If only to experience just once that a tiny segment of our country, a small piece of our government, welcomed our relationships, celebrated our committment to one another & shared joy in making our love legal.

posted by bay jenny @ 11:54 AM