On October 28, 2008, Brett and Richard got married in San Francisco. They’ve been committed partners for a long time, and made it through some difficult times togther. They lived together and bought a home together, so it seemed natural for them to come to California with a dozen or so of their close friends and family to make it legal.
It was legal for about a week.
The passage of Prop 8 in California (which amends the California state constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman) pretty much rolls back the right of same-sex couples to get married in this state. By Friday the opposition to Prop 8 had regrouped and reorganized with an end-of-workweek demonstration in Dolores Park. I stopped by on my way to dinner with a friend, thinking to sign my name and get a bumper sticker. An hour later I was marching with the group to City Hall. There were lots of feelings in this powerful group: the recognition (typically somber) that gay people are, once again–at least for now–an outside minority with restricted rights; the resolve to work harder to bring communities together for equal protection for all; the anger at having a lot of hard work undone; and the celebration of the opportunity afforded 18,000 couples in California to marry during a brief window of legality.
If you can, support the legal effort to overturn Proposition 8 in California.
