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salixbabylonI know I almost never post newsy or political things, but this has just made my day:
S.F. defies law, marries gays
TEARS AND CHEERS: Surprise ceremonies are 'dream come true' for those tying the knot
and
Dozens of couples line up for same-sex marriages
And a firsthand account - a friend of a friend posted this to a newsgroup we all read:
Fri Feb 13, 2004
From: Heather
Subject: licensed to marry
Tim and I had planned (on Monday we made this choice) to go to City Hall on
Friday for our license. I thought it would be fun to get a license on Friday
the 13th... we stuck to that, and went to City Hall this morning. We saw at
least 500 people in line (some were friends and family of the to-be-weds, of
course).
We were the *only* hetero couple there, the entire time we were there. We
stood in line for three hours to get our license, and I was laughing and
crying constantly, watching all these beautiful people solidifying their
families. A lesbian couple from Walnut Creek was behind us, and I tap danced
with their daughter Gabrielle. In front of us were a couple of old drag
queens with facial piercings. In front of them were two young gay yuppie
couples, one of whom had a 4 month old daughter. The CNN cameras loved them,
and kept stopping for the "dad & daughter" shots when they went by. A very
cute couple of lesbian senior citizens got a loud round of applause when they
walked out holding hands and yelled "It was worth the wait!". Then again,
almost everyone was getting applause, and nearly everyone was crying. The
clerk was very, very confused that Tim and I were straight, and we actually
had to hand back the form we filled out for "1st applicant" and "2nd applicant"
and fill out one that said "bride and groom" which made me very disappointed.
I thought the whole point was to have a form that worked for everyone... but
I assume they need to keep all the same sex couples separate for the legal
disputes to follow.
They were performing marriages everywhere - I counted at least four going on
at once in the Rotunda alone. One of the cute young yuppies was trying to
figure out where he could have their ceremony in the building where he could
get good phone reception so his mom could hear them exchange vows. People
were calling their bosses all around and getting the day off as they realized
how long it would take... And the mayor is hosting a wine and cheese
reception for all the couples at 6pm tonight.
I also understand it will take at least one business day for the injunction to
stop city hall from issuing these, and the injunction hasn't been filed yet.
The clerk's office will be open for the first time for Valentines day this
saturday, and monday isn't a business day - and I understand they'll be doing
ceremonies then too. So they sneaked around and got at least four days in to
marry people. I'm very very impressed with Newsom right now.
And that was my first time at City Hall, too. It's beautiful.
S.F. defies law, marries gays
TEARS AND CHEERS: Surprise ceremonies are 'dream come true' for those tying the knot
and
Dozens of couples line up for same-sex marriages
And a firsthand account - a friend of a friend posted this to a newsgroup we all read:
Fri Feb 13, 2004
From: Heather
Subject: licensed to marry
Tim and I had planned (on Monday we made this choice) to go to City Hall on
Friday for our license. I thought it would be fun to get a license on Friday
the 13th... we stuck to that, and went to City Hall this morning. We saw at
least 500 people in line (some were friends and family of the to-be-weds, of
course).
We were the *only* hetero couple there, the entire time we were there. We
stood in line for three hours to get our license, and I was laughing and
crying constantly, watching all these beautiful people solidifying their
families. A lesbian couple from Walnut Creek was behind us, and I tap danced
with their daughter Gabrielle. In front of us were a couple of old drag
queens with facial piercings. In front of them were two young gay yuppie
couples, one of whom had a 4 month old daughter. The CNN cameras loved them,
and kept stopping for the "dad & daughter" shots when they went by. A very
cute couple of lesbian senior citizens got a loud round of applause when they
walked out holding hands and yelled "It was worth the wait!". Then again,
almost everyone was getting applause, and nearly everyone was crying. The
clerk was very, very confused that Tim and I were straight, and we actually
had to hand back the form we filled out for "1st applicant" and "2nd applicant"
and fill out one that said "bride and groom" which made me very disappointed.
I thought the whole point was to have a form that worked for everyone... but
I assume they need to keep all the same sex couples separate for the legal
disputes to follow.
They were performing marriages everywhere - I counted at least four going on
at once in the Rotunda alone. One of the cute young yuppies was trying to
figure out where he could have their ceremony in the building where he could
get good phone reception so his mom could hear them exchange vows. People
were calling their bosses all around and getting the day off as they realized
how long it would take... And the mayor is hosting a wine and cheese
reception for all the couples at 6pm tonight.
I also understand it will take at least one business day for the injunction to
stop city hall from issuing these, and the injunction hasn't been filed yet.
The clerk's office will be open for the first time for Valentines day this
saturday, and monday isn't a business day - and I understand they'll be doing
ceremonies then too. So they sneaked around and got at least four days in to
marry people. I'm very very impressed with Newsom right now.
And that was my first time at City Hall, too. It's beautiful.
