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Procedural question - are the marriages that took place last time it was legal in San Francisco recognised? Or were they completely void and do those couples have to get married again?
I don't know if it applies to everyone, but I do know that Mayor Newsom remarried the first couple who got married the last time. (Is that sentence confusing enough?) So they certainly had to get married again. But Newsom actually set aside the first night for their wedding, and their wedding only, which I thought was nice.
It was a little more than four years ago that Lyon and Martin were the first to wed after Mayor Gavin Newsom sanctioned same-sex weddings. About 4,000 gay and lesbian couples took the plunge, but the California Supreme Court later ruled those weddings legally invalid because Newsom acted without proper authority.
I know for some couples, it'll be their first chance at a big feast and a party. For example, my college math professor married his partner 4 years ago, but it was a very spur-of-the-moment thing - they read that Mayor Newsom had ordered that the county clerks in San Francisco give out licenses to gay couples, so they drove up from LA in the middle of the week. I hope that they finally get the family celebration that they deserve.
It was pretty great. And I cried, though I didn't think I would. Random people stopped and watched and clapped, and when we were officially pronounced Spouses for Life, there was so much cheering that a deputy had to come out of the nearby hearing room to ask us to keep it down, as budget hearings were going on. Doh!
rtha - that pic with the two of you in front of the bust of Harvey Milk is really poingnant and kickass at the same time. I usually back the underdog in most situations, so it is really good to see the proper winners and history being represented at the same time. You rule!
photo by splunge
photo by TheophileEscargot
photo by Kronos_to_Earth
photo by ethylene
