California Legalizes Gay Marriage

[barbaro]

As a hetero I don't follow the issue of Gay Marriage, very much. I don't have a lot of info on it. As California has legalized gay marriage, allowing for the transfer of property, and other legal rights, there will be media coverage, and as this article states, protests against it.

Personally, I don't really care. Why should I? I believe that marriage is not only about personal commitment, but also adds legal advantages in certain areas.

What about you? Do you care?

updated 6:36 p.m. PT, Tues., June. 17, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO - Serenaded by a gay men's chorus, showered with rose petals and toasted with champagne, hundreds of tearful same-sex couples got married across the state Tuesday in what some are calling California's new Summer of Love.

Wearing everything from T-shirts to tuxedos and lavish gowns, they rushed down to county clerks' offices to obtain marriage licenses and exchange vows on the first full day that gay marriage became legal in California by order of the state's highest court. They were joined by jubilant crowds that came to witness the event.

George Takei, who played Sulu on the original "Star Trek," beamed as he and his partner of 21 years, Brad Altman, obtained one of the new gender-neutral marriage licenses — with the words "Party A" and "Party B" instead of "bride" and "groom" — at the West Hollywood City Hall. They are planning a September wedding.

We see before me people who personify love and commitment," a grinning Takei told the crowd. He flashed the Vulcan hand salute from "Star Trek" and, in a twist on the Vulcan greeting from the TV series, said: "May equality live long and prosper."
The burst of gay weddings actually began Monday evening, when a few counties extended their office hours past 5 p.m., the moment the May 15 California Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage took effect. On Tuesday morning, though, all 58 counties began issuing licenses, and the rush was on.


Legal objections rejected

There were scattered demonstrations outside some offices and courthouses. About a dozen protesters stood across the street from the Sacramento County recorder's office, carrying signs that read, "Marriage 1 man + 1 woman" and "Resist Judicial Tyranny."

"It's something to just pray about. It's not a time to be joyful," 16-year-old demonstrator Juliya Lyubezhanina said as she watched dozens of balloon- and rainbow flag-carrying couples.

Courts in Sacramento and San Francisco on Tuesday rejected separate last-minute bids by groups seeking to halt same-sex marriage.

Still, around the state, protesters were outnumbered by well-wishers. One conservative activist said that the effort to pass a constitutional amendment in the fall that would outlaw gay marriage again in California could fail if the opponents came on too strong.

"The major media would love to see us engage in fierce protests and hostile demonstrations of outrage against the licensing of same-sex 'marriages,'" Ronald Prentice, chairman of the ProtectMarriage.com coalition. "Our battle is not against the same-sex couples who are pursuing the opportunity to 'marry' granted them by the activist judges on the California Supreme Court."

Link: Gay couples rush to get married in Calif. - Life - MSNBC.com

[jandajoy]

"It's something to just pray about. It's not a time to be joyful," 16-year-old demonstrator Juliya Lyubezhanina said as she watched dozens of balloon- and rainbow flag-carrying couples.

I wonder if she's a member of an evangelical church?

[Texpat]

The only cool gays are hot, young lesbians.

[bkkandrew]

^Which I will happily perform my own style of 'ceremony' for..

[obsidian]

gays should be allowed to know hell just like the straights.

[Norton]

Up to them but don't know why anyone would want to screw up a perfectly good relationship by getting married.

[jandajoy]

The only cool gays are hot, young lesbians.

Who won't have anything to do with you.

[November Rain]

I'm personally not a huge fan of marriage, being one half of a screwed up one, but I think that any couple, regardless of sexual orientation, gender, race, age (adults, of course) should be able to make that commitment to each other, if they so wish. So, great, I'm all for it.