california love

love.

such a simple word, and yet somehow it has become such a complex issue.

the california supreme court today ruled to grant people the right to marry the one they love regardless of whether those people both happen to be women, or men. we took the whole family to celebrate this wonderful and historic day at a rally in midtown. the crowd was electric and i could feel the sheer joy and exhilaration reverberating off of the people crowded into the city block. as we mingled with friends and stood next to strangers, my heart was so filled with joy and compassion and pride.

it was hard not to get emotional as i saw people rejoice in the news. we listened to the stories of old couples who never thought they would live to see this day come; couples who, just hours after the decision, had already begun planning their marriage ceremonies; it was so moving to witness the pride they took in saying that word "marriage"; barely believing they could now use it in a context that applied to them. we saw little kids beaming at the sight of their moms or their dads so happy.

we were all beaming too : )

i got goosebumps listening and watching and cheering. seeing the comfort and relief and joy on the faces of people whose day had finally come. my heart rejoiced in knowing that so many of our friends and colleagues and acquaintances would now have same legal rights and protections that adam and i enjoy so effortlessly as married partners.

at one point i remember thinking, "how are we just now coming to this point?...really? what year is it? where are we? so, everyone in this state will be able to marry the one they love - that is so wonderful..."

"wait, they couldn't before?...wait!? that's crazy"!

I realize now this is the dialogue i will be having with sienna and olivia as they shake their heads in disbelief that waaaay back in the day it was illegal for a woman to marry another woman.

i will get that blank and puzzled look from them that i got when i tried to explain to my brother adam that we used to actually go to the library to search for information in books and search for the books we wanted using this thing called the "card catalogue" which used this intricate matrix of numeric codes called the "dewey decimal system". uh...what?

it is amazing (or, in this case, frightening) how cyclical life is. I recall all those same conversations i've had with my mother: "wait, what? you're telling me you had to enter the movie theatre through the alley because you weren't allowed to go in through the front door? and you had to hand the man your money for your ticket through a hole cut in the wall because he didn't want to look at you? and you had to sit upstairs and watch from the balcony and wait till all the white people left before you could exit? that's CRAZY! you're so old!" followed by the sad realization that, no, she's not old. and no, it wasn't that long ago.

it is all so simple. and yet, in 48 other states across the country, this basic right is still denied millions of people. the opponents of gay marriage reared their ignorant heads today too, making the same arguments that people made in this very state back in 1948 when the california supreme court ruled to legalize interracial marriages. they said the sanctity of marriage was being threatened, that by allowing two people of different races to marry would somehow lead to the degeneration of the human race. it was not until 1967 that the last of the "miscegenation" laws in this country were overturned by the supreme court - thereby making it legal for whites to marry other races. i can only pray that it doesn't take 20 more years of discrimination and injustice before the rest of these united states find the courage to do what is right and pass marriage equality laws of their own...

yes, i felt a sudden joy fill my heart today. just realizing what this means to so many of our gay and lesbian friends and colleagues, and what it means to us. knowing that our two little girls will now be able to grow up and marry whomever they love - anyone they choose. (uh - at least legally. that's assuming their father ever let's them go on a date).