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IN FOCUS: ARTICLE |
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Gay Couples Say "I Do!"
by Kate Pavao, 04.16.04
"It is part of the First Amendment, it's freedom." |
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On February 13, 2004, sisters Jaclyn and Krystle woke up before dawn. It was still dark when their family drove from their home in Dublin, CA, into nearby San Francisco, hoping to beat the crowds. They waited for hours until the doors to City Hall finally opened.
Despite the long, cold wait, their spirits were high — after all, they were going to a wedding! Drivers honked their car horns in support, and bicyclists riding by waved. There were news cameras. And there was something else special that Friday: "The sunrise was really pretty," remembers Jaclyn. "It was kind of fitting for the day."
That day, Jaclyn, 13, and Krystle, 15, watched as their mothers, Diana and Rudi, got legally married.
Couples from Coast to Coast
Diana and Rudi weren't the only gay couple saying "I do" that day. San Francisco began allowing same-sex partners to legally wed on February 12, 2004, and more than 4,000 couples took the plunge before the California Supreme Court put a stop to the ceremonies on March 11 to review whether same-sex marriages are legal there.
Now, their family is at the center of a controversy that's raging throughout the country: should gay people be allowed to marry? In addition to getting marriage licenses in San Francisco, gay couples have gotten married in such places as New Paltz, NY, and Multnomah County, OR. Massachusetts could start allowing gay couples to marry in mid-May. Meanwhile, protestors have demonstrated against the marriages, court cases have been filed, and President Bush has called for a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as a union between a woman and a man only.
Neither Jaclyn nor Krystle can understand why anyone would be opposed to gay marriage. "If gay people get married, it's not affecting other people's marriages," Jaclyn points out. Krystle agrees. "It is part of the First Amendment, it's freedom," she says. "I don't know why they haven't done it before now."
Tying the Knot
Diana and Rudi's ceremony was nontraditional in more ways than one. Krystle wore jeans to the wedding, which took place on the steps inside City Hall, while other couples exchanged vows around them. The vows were generic, the ceremony only took about 10 minutes, and one-half of the happy couple had to leave for work right after the ceremony!
Even so, the family toasted the newlywed couple with Hershey's Kisses® and lattes, and the mood at City Hall that day was celebratory. "You'd come out of the room with the marriage certificate and everyone in the line — there was a line of about 500 people behind us — they were all cheering as you walked through," remembers Krystle. "It was very cool."
When San Francisco started issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, Krystle says she understood why her mothers would want to get one. "I knew it was important, because they're being recognized by the government and everyone," she says. Diana and Rudi have been together for 11 years and had a commitment ceremony 10 years ago. While the legal wedding didn't change anything in their day-to-day lives, it made their relationship "more official," says Jaclyn.
Now, the teens say they hope the courts keep Diana and Rudi's union — and the rest of the same-sex marriages — legal. After all, says Krystle, "They've been waiting a long time for this!" |
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