new wedding, old marriage

Tonight I married a couple who had already been together 41 years. Two guys approached me after I spoke at a Community Forum on Proposition 8 last Monday. Prop 8 is the California constitutional amendment that would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. They asked me how to go about getting married and shared that they were worried about the upcoming vote and wanted to get married ASAP. I explained how they needed to get a license at the court house and then have someone sign it, and I told them I would be happy to sign it for them.

Tonight I drove over to their house and we sat in their living room and talked a little. They met at a bar in downtown Los Angeles in 1967 when they were 25. Within the year they were sharing an apartment and then bought a house together. Later they bought the house they live in now in Santa Clarita where they've lived for 21 years. Raised Catholic and Lutheran they both spoke of being hurt by religion and abandoning it.

Instead of a prayer or blessing I just told them how I felt. That I was honored to marry them. That I could see their relationship was already a marriage of beauty and worth. That I was so pleased for them that after 41 years the state would finally recognize what they already knew in their hearts and lived in their lives. And then I signed the license and we took some pictures and I drove home.

Please donate here to help preserve the right to marry for all Californians.