Same-Sex Wedding Bells Are Ringing in California.
It has been a whirlwind of weddings since Monday evening at 5:01pm, which was when same-sex weddings could officially begin here in California. Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon were the first to be married in San Francisco, with Mayor Gavin Newsom performing the ceremony. The couple, age 87 and 84 respectively, were the first to marry 4 years ago when Mayor Newsom began issuing licenses to same-sex couples in defiance of state law. Their marriage, along with many others, was declared invalid shortly after. They were overjoyed to now be legally married thanks to the recent Supreme Court decision. Below is video footage of the lovely brides and other happy couples who tied the knot on Monday night. Also included are scenes of the Phelps family protest (which I didn’t make it to as I was not feeling well) and some other protesters.
Here is a county-by-county rundown of the marriage licenses issued and marriages performed as per the Contra Costa Times. com:
* Contra Costa: Issued 55 marriage licenses Tuesday, 36 for same-sex couples, and performed 22 wedding ceremonies, 21 for same-sex couples. Three protesters picketed for an hour, but no incidents were reported to police.
* San Francisco: As of noon Tuesday, San Francisco received 172 same-sex marriage license appointments and 114 reserved ceremonies and most were for same-sex couples, according to the mayor’s office.
* Alameda: The county married 65 same-sex couples Monday night. On Tuesday, it issued 63 marriage licenses and performed 26 weddings, mostly same-sex.
* Solano: On Tuesday, the county issued 22 licenses, 19 for same-sex couples; officiated eight ceremonies, seven of them for same-sex couples.
* San Mateo: The county married four same-sex couples Tuesday and issued 45 licenses, 34 to same-sex couples. Outside, the Rev. Terri Echelbarger of the Peninsula Metropolitan Community Church based in San Mateo, married five same-gender couples.
* Santa Clara: Santa Clara issued 111 marriage licenses and conducted 32 weddings, mostly same-sex.
* Sonoma: On Monday, officials married 20 same-sex couples and issued 37 licenses. On Tuesday, it issued 42 licenses for same-sex couples and conducted 28 ceremonies.
* Napa: Issued 22 licenses; 13 for same-sex couples and performed six ceremonies, five for same-sex couples.
* Marin: Issued 35 licenses and performed 15 ceremonies Tuesday.
Sapphocrat and I have applied for our marriage license. I’ve been scouting online for wardrobe ideas, we’ll be shopping for wedding bands sometime this week or next, and we already are fairly sure where we’re going to have the ceremony. Very soon we’re going to join the hundreds (if not thousands) of blissfully married same-sex couples here in California.
Let equality ring!
Addendum, a comment has arrived. Linda said:
Phyllis and Del - aren’t they just the sweetest things? To think of being together for all those years and only now being able to properly celebrate their commitment. It must have taken so much devotion and courage to stand up against society for so long. I’m a straight, female, anglo - this means that I can go through my day and no one suspects me of being an evil, liberal-minded, atheist. I joined the Marines in the early 70s and I’m sure that at least half of the women were gay - later I joined the guard and finished with a total of 21 years. What this brings me to is how sad it made me that I could openly discuss my husband and how happy he made me while my gay friends had to keep silent.
I hope your wedding will be everything you’ve always wanted it to be.
I’m glad that Martin and Lyon saw marriage equality in their lifetimes. It’s only fitting considering how much they contributed to the lesbian rights movement.
I applaud your sensitivity to your privilege regarding your ability to speak freely about your relationship with your husband. So many straight people claim LGBT people are “flaunting” their orientations/identities if they even mention that they are LGBT, and especially if they talk of their partners. They don’t realize the extent to which they “flaunt” their heterosexuality, such as talking about dates, referring to spouses, gushing about upcoming weddings, keeping pictures of their families on their desks at work, etc. What’s good for the goose is, apparently, not good for the gander with certain people.
