Keep Hoping Machine Running (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thefourthvine) wrote2008-10-10 04:39 pm
thefourthvine) wrote2008-10-10 04:39 pm
I don't post about politics. But this isn't about politics.
Best Beloved and I are getting married on October 31st. We got our marriage licenses today.
Which - okay, if you're straight, or you're not in a relationship, it may not be entirely clear what that means. Best Beloved and I have been together for fifteen years, since I was 19. We've spent our entire adult lives together. We've lived together, shared our finances, bought a house. Had a child. But we could never get married.
Now we can; right now, gay couples in California can get married just like other people. Just like we're real people. Today, at the courthouse, there were six couples in the marriage license line - four male/female couples, a male/male couple (with their kid), and me and Best Beloved (with the earthling, who handled the eternal wait with more dignity and patience than anyone else in line, let me just note). We all got treated the same, although I suspect that only four of us in that line understood what a privilege that was.
For now, we are all allowed to stand in that line - to wait forever, to fill out forms, to listen to the clerk swear at her malfunctioning computer, to pay the County $70.00, to get the magical license that will let us be "Party A" and "Party B" in a marriage forever. For now, we can do that. Until November 4th. The election that I hope will change this country for the better may change things in California for the worse, largely because opposition to marriage equality is much better funded than support for marriage equality.
I know most of you don't have any extra money right now. But if you feel like giving us a gift to celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime event - well, you could donate something to Equality for All. Five bucks is the minimum. Fifteen would be a dollar for every year that Best Beloved and I have been together but unable to get married. Or, if you have some extra time, you could sign up to phone bank (from your home - you don't have to live in California). Fifteen calls would, again, be one for every year Best Beloved and I have been together.
The best gift you could possibly give us is the hope that other couples like us will be able to stand in that line in two years, in five years, in ten.
Or, hey, I will just take congratulations: Best Beloved and I are getting married!
Which - okay, if you're straight, or you're not in a relationship, it may not be entirely clear what that means. Best Beloved and I have been together for fifteen years, since I was 19. We've spent our entire adult lives together. We've lived together, shared our finances, bought a house. Had a child. But we could never get married.
Now we can; right now, gay couples in California can get married just like other people. Just like we're real people. Today, at the courthouse, there were six couples in the marriage license line - four male/female couples, a male/male couple (with their kid), and me and Best Beloved (with the earthling, who handled the eternal wait with more dignity and patience than anyone else in line, let me just note). We all got treated the same, although I suspect that only four of us in that line understood what a privilege that was.
For now, we are all allowed to stand in that line - to wait forever, to fill out forms, to listen to the clerk swear at her malfunctioning computer, to pay the County $70.00, to get the magical license that will let us be "Party A" and "Party B" in a marriage forever. For now, we can do that. Until November 4th. The election that I hope will change this country for the better may change things in California for the worse, largely because opposition to marriage equality is much better funded than support for marriage equality.
I know most of you don't have any extra money right now. But if you feel like giving us a gift to celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime event - well, you could donate something to Equality for All. Five bucks is the minimum. Fifteen would be a dollar for every year that Best Beloved and I have been together but unable to get married. Or, if you have some extra time, you could sign up to phone bank (from your home - you don't have to live in California). Fifteen calls would, again, be one for every year Best Beloved and I have been together.
The best gift you could possibly give us is the hope that other couples like us will be able to stand in that line in two years, in five years, in ten.
Or, hey, I will just take congratulations: Best Beloved and I are getting married!
no subject
I have been helping out at the phone banks of the church my daughter (not I) goes to (well, really, I'm calling the people reminding them that they are coming in to work the phones, I'm a bit squeemish about asking for money).
On my way back from bringing my daughter the Cancer Walk for Life, I passed THREE corners that had people holding signs for YES on 8. It made me sick. I was on my way to join the group that I knew at a different intersection with our NO on 8 signs. I don't know that it does any good, but boy I needed to be where I was today.
I am so thrilled with how many people I know that are getting married, I just hope we win and everyone who wants to gets a chance. I have a friend who had to cancel his wedding because his ex was being a jerk and waging a custody battle, and it was too much for them to deal with. If 8 passes, they might have lost their opportunity.
So I guess we will all keep fighting the fight, and doing what we can.
Yay for both of you. I am so glad I am alive right now. And how cool is it that you are getting married on Halloween?! Just. YAY!