Robin Tyler and Diane Olson have been first gay couple to legally marry in California.
Congratulations to them.
In a very sweet move, they both wore white and had a traditional cake, but with two brides on it. The ceremony was a traditional Jewish one conducted under a huppah – ‘traditional’ obviously being a fairly flexible word here.
The couple have repeatedly tried to get married in their 15 years together. For eight years they showed up at the courthouse each Valentine’s Day and were repeatedly denied a marriage licence. Eventually they undertook a high-profile lawsuit to have California’s ban on same-sex marriage ruled as unconstitutional.
For this, the couple were chosen to receive the county’s first licence "in recognition of their unique role in the court’s decision," said acting LA County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan.
Hundreds of guests and three television networks were on hand to greet the couple but of course, the nutjobs were also out in force with their placards complaining about how this will all be the end of civilisation as we know it.
What IS their problem? Do they seriously feel threatened by the level of personal commitment shown by these law-abiding, tax-paying adults? Are they equally threatened by Del Martin, 87, and Phyllis Lyon, 83, who married each other in San Francisco on the same day, the culmination of their 55-year relationship? In a world as fucked-up as this one, you’d think people would be happy to celebrate two human beings’ obvious love for one another.
Nevertheless, whatever the right-wingers think, in the long run what might count for more is the pink pound (or gay greenback, in this case). There are about 80,000 resident gay couples in California and doubtless many of them will want to marry (there are said to be 650 lined up in San Francisco alone). With each couple spending a shedload on flowers, cakes, clothes and venues, any business connected with weddings stands to make a serious buck in the next six months.
So I hereby make a prediction – the world will not stop spinning on its axis because gay people get married. Let’s see if I’m right….