Saturday, February 14, 2004

An Historic Valentine's Day

What a way to celebrate the Valentine's weekend: as of yesterday, 489 gay couples married in San Francisco.

Who'd have imagined this could all happen so quickly? What an inspiring act of civil disobedience. It can only be compared to the lunch counter sit-ins here in the South. Go, San Fran, go!

The Mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, is a national hero:
"We are reading the direct language within the state constitution, and we directed our county clerk to do the right thing and extend the privilege that's extended to my wife and myself and millions of us across the country to same-sex couples," the mayor told CNN on Friday.

Newsom said he did not accept that gay marriages were against state law, again citing the California Constitution.

"Where is the fundamental decency to extend the same privileges and rights the rest of us are afforded?" the mayor asked. "What is the fundamental right to perpetuate a policy of separate but unequal that people seem to suggest is a compromise?"
Newsom also wrote this letter to the County Clerk, asking that changes be made "forms and documents used to apply for and issue marriage licenses in order to provide marriage licenses on a non-discriminatory basis, without regard to gender or sexual orientation."

Let's hope for a chain reaction, and just maybe it'll be too late soon for the Bush administration to pass the first amendment to the Constitution, which would actually restrict human rights.

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