Post by Merkuri on Feb 17, 2004 11:24:01 GMT -5
From the NYTimes [free registration required]: www.nytimes.com/2004/02/17/national/17GAYS.html
Rushing to Say 'I Do' Before City Is Told 'You Can't'
By CAROLYN MARSHALL
Published: February 17, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 16 — Intent on getting a coveted marriage license before court hearings on Tuesday to stop same-sex marriages, hundreds of gay and lesbian couples continued to descend on City Hall on Monday, many after camping outside overnight and braving chilling rain.
The assessor-recorder, Mabel S. Teng, said her office, responsible for issuing the $83 licenses, performed 825 weddings on Monday, bringing the number of same-sex marriages to about 2,425 since the city opened the gates to gay couples on Thursday.
The clerk's staff, the sheriff's department and volunteers from other offices worked through the three-day holiday weekend without pay, Ms. Teng said. "It's purely out of love and commitment to equal rights."
At least 200 city workers, with additional help from the public, kept the doors to City Hall open over the weekend. Still, officials acknowledged that some couples might not obtain a license before the courts stepped in.
"We got in line yesterday and waited but didn't get anything and were sent home," said Persephone Gonzalez, a 29-year-old teacher who left Long Beach, Calif., at 8 a.m. on Sunday and arrived here at 1 p.m., only to face long lines. "It was disappointing, but we returned at 3:30 this morning. We're running on everyone else's adrenaline."
The joyous frenzy to marry started after Mayor Gavin C. Newsom told city and county officials to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples under a directive that opponents say defies state law. The mayor's early Valentine's Day gesture was immediately challenged by two groups. Court hearings on the challenges, brought by the Alliance Defense Fund and the Campaign for California Families, are scheduled for Tuesday.
Robert Tyler, a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund, said Monday in a telephone interview that the city was making "a mockery to democracy" by violating state law.
The vast majority of the newlyweds are from San Francisco and the Bay Area, but 150 traveled from around Los Angeles, San Diego and other California cities. Ms. Teng said at least 50 couples who married this weekend were out-of-state residents, including people from Texas, Colorado, South Carolina and Pennsylvania. Four couples flew in from overseas: from New Zealand, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Thailand.
Doug Benson, 50, and Duane Gajewski, 40, flew overnight from their home in Robbinsdale, Minn.
Draped in clear shower curtains bought at the last minute at a 24-hour drugstore to protect them from the rain, the couple got in line at 4 a.m. on Monday. By late morning they had yet to reach the front steps of the civic center. The delay did not discourage them.
"My parents married here in City Hall in World War II, so this is very special for me," said a tearful Mr. Benson. "We're full citizens and we pay taxes. We didn't ask to be gay, but that's what happened. We just want the same rights as everybody else."
Mr. Benson said he felt compelled to fly here to participate in what advocates are calling a historic event reminiscent of the struggle once faced by interracial couples. He echoed the sentiments of many couples who argued that gays or lesbians in a committed relationship should be afforded the same rights as heterosexual couples.
"We're already a family," Mr. Benson said. "So regardless of what the legal system decides, this shows our support and demand for privileges and benefits you get from being married."
The city typically marries 30 couples a day. Roughly 485 same-sex couples were married on Saturday, and 469 on Sunday.
City and county officials acknowledge that the state's family law forbids same-sex marriage, but they argue that the state's Constitution protects equal rights and takes precedence. Legal experts said the new licenses held only symbolic value because California law defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. City officials advised the couples to seek legal advice about their status.
Some experts say California may be headed for a state Supreme Court battle similar to the one in Massachusetts, where the state's highest court in November affirmed the right of gays to marry.
As Tuesday's hearings seeking to block the marriages neared, Ms. Teng said her office would continue to issue marriage licenses "until I hear from the city attorney."
Among the local residents seeking licenses were Richard Bernard, a 47-year-old technologist, and David Dupre, a 44-year-old pharmacist, who have been together for 22 years. Huddled under umbrellas and standing arm in arm, they said they showed up at 9 a.m. on Sunday but were eventually told to go home. They returned Monday at 6:45 a.m.
"I am getting married because it's right," Mr. Bernard said. "This is one of the last outstanding prejudices and it's wrong. It's very important to stand up against George Bush and the right wing."
Despite the long wait, the mood in the line was jubilant. Well-wishers driving by honked horns and flashed peace signs. Newlyweds emerged from City Hall to wild cheers. Couples snapped photos, primped and prepared vows. One woman who was married Sunday returned Monday with coffee and doughnuts for the waiting-weary.
"Most people don't see this side of the community," Mr. Bernard said. "These are the couples who own homes, pay taxes. We are part of the backbone of society — the quiet majority."
Waiting in line on Monday, Nancy Faria, 42 and Linda Weidner, 47, Massachusetts residents who have been a couple for five years, said legal battles in their state and subsequent protests against gays and lesbians prompted them to fly to San Francisco. They viewed the trip as an act of civil disobedience and worth the effort, even if they return home without a license.
Inside City Hall, staff members had set up an assembly line to process the licenses, in part by revamping computer programs intended to deal with property assessments. Couples wend from lines for marriage applications, to lines for officials to proofread the documents to lines to shuffle people through civil ceremonies. Angela Gross, a 28-year-old event planner from San Francisco, felt compelled to volunteer. She was in charge of copying the licenses before the newlyweds left.
"We are the last people they see," Ms. Gross said. "We get to hand them the license and say congratulations before we send them on their way to spend the rest of their lives together."
Ms. Gross said she was amazed by the patience and care shown by the staff in the clerk's office. "It's managed chaos," she said. "I'm tired, we are all tired. But it's important to be here, to be part of it."
Rushing to Say 'I Do' Before City Is Told 'You Can't'
By CAROLYN MARSHALL
Published: February 17, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 16 — Intent on getting a coveted marriage license before court hearings on Tuesday to stop same-sex marriages, hundreds of gay and lesbian couples continued to descend on City Hall on Monday, many after camping outside overnight and braving chilling rain.
The assessor-recorder, Mabel S. Teng, said her office, responsible for issuing the $83 licenses, performed 825 weddings on Monday, bringing the number of same-sex marriages to about 2,425 since the city opened the gates to gay couples on Thursday.
The clerk's staff, the sheriff's department and volunteers from other offices worked through the three-day holiday weekend without pay, Ms. Teng said. "It's purely out of love and commitment to equal rights."
At least 200 city workers, with additional help from the public, kept the doors to City Hall open over the weekend. Still, officials acknowledged that some couples might not obtain a license before the courts stepped in.
"We got in line yesterday and waited but didn't get anything and were sent home," said Persephone Gonzalez, a 29-year-old teacher who left Long Beach, Calif., at 8 a.m. on Sunday and arrived here at 1 p.m., only to face long lines. "It was disappointing, but we returned at 3:30 this morning. We're running on everyone else's adrenaline."
The joyous frenzy to marry started after Mayor Gavin C. Newsom told city and county officials to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples under a directive that opponents say defies state law. The mayor's early Valentine's Day gesture was immediately challenged by two groups. Court hearings on the challenges, brought by the Alliance Defense Fund and the Campaign for California Families, are scheduled for Tuesday.
Robert Tyler, a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund, said Monday in a telephone interview that the city was making "a mockery to democracy" by violating state law.
The vast majority of the newlyweds are from San Francisco and the Bay Area, but 150 traveled from around Los Angeles, San Diego and other California cities. Ms. Teng said at least 50 couples who married this weekend were out-of-state residents, including people from Texas, Colorado, South Carolina and Pennsylvania. Four couples flew in from overseas: from New Zealand, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Thailand.
Doug Benson, 50, and Duane Gajewski, 40, flew overnight from their home in Robbinsdale, Minn.
Draped in clear shower curtains bought at the last minute at a 24-hour drugstore to protect them from the rain, the couple got in line at 4 a.m. on Monday. By late morning they had yet to reach the front steps of the civic center. The delay did not discourage them.
"My parents married here in City Hall in World War II, so this is very special for me," said a tearful Mr. Benson. "We're full citizens and we pay taxes. We didn't ask to be gay, but that's what happened. We just want the same rights as everybody else."
Mr. Benson said he felt compelled to fly here to participate in what advocates are calling a historic event reminiscent of the struggle once faced by interracial couples. He echoed the sentiments of many couples who argued that gays or lesbians in a committed relationship should be afforded the same rights as heterosexual couples.
"We're already a family," Mr. Benson said. "So regardless of what the legal system decides, this shows our support and demand for privileges and benefits you get from being married."
The city typically marries 30 couples a day. Roughly 485 same-sex couples were married on Saturday, and 469 on Sunday.
City and county officials acknowledge that the state's family law forbids same-sex marriage, but they argue that the state's Constitution protects equal rights and takes precedence. Legal experts said the new licenses held only symbolic value because California law defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. City officials advised the couples to seek legal advice about their status.
Some experts say California may be headed for a state Supreme Court battle similar to the one in Massachusetts, where the state's highest court in November affirmed the right of gays to marry.
As Tuesday's hearings seeking to block the marriages neared, Ms. Teng said her office would continue to issue marriage licenses "until I hear from the city attorney."
Among the local residents seeking licenses were Richard Bernard, a 47-year-old technologist, and David Dupre, a 44-year-old pharmacist, who have been together for 22 years. Huddled under umbrellas and standing arm in arm, they said they showed up at 9 a.m. on Sunday but were eventually told to go home. They returned Monday at 6:45 a.m.
"I am getting married because it's right," Mr. Bernard said. "This is one of the last outstanding prejudices and it's wrong. It's very important to stand up against George Bush and the right wing."
Despite the long wait, the mood in the line was jubilant. Well-wishers driving by honked horns and flashed peace signs. Newlyweds emerged from City Hall to wild cheers. Couples snapped photos, primped and prepared vows. One woman who was married Sunday returned Monday with coffee and doughnuts for the waiting-weary.
"Most people don't see this side of the community," Mr. Bernard said. "These are the couples who own homes, pay taxes. We are part of the backbone of society — the quiet majority."
Waiting in line on Monday, Nancy Faria, 42 and Linda Weidner, 47, Massachusetts residents who have been a couple for five years, said legal battles in their state and subsequent protests against gays and lesbians prompted them to fly to San Francisco. They viewed the trip as an act of civil disobedience and worth the effort, even if they return home without a license.
Inside City Hall, staff members had set up an assembly line to process the licenses, in part by revamping computer programs intended to deal with property assessments. Couples wend from lines for marriage applications, to lines for officials to proofread the documents to lines to shuffle people through civil ceremonies. Angela Gross, a 28-year-old event planner from San Francisco, felt compelled to volunteer. She was in charge of copying the licenses before the newlyweds left.
"We are the last people they see," Ms. Gross said. "We get to hand them the license and say congratulations before we send them on their way to spend the rest of their lives together."
Ms. Gross said she was amazed by the patience and care shown by the staff in the clerk's office. "It's managed chaos," she said. "I'm tired, we are all tired. But it's important to be here, to be part of it."
