It will be a light posting day here at inlookout.com as we wrap our heads around today’s terrible ruling. While my marriage may have been saved, I’d rather not be a part of a special group that has rights while others do not.

Here are few more pictures from today’s rally outside the California Supreme Court…

So tell me who… who is the divisive little @#!$ carrying the GAY = PERVERT sign in the first and last photo? While I certainly disagreed with all of the “pro” Prop 8 signs… at least they were civil and not disrespectful unlike THAT ONE.

The California Supreme Court will finally announce its ruling next Tuesday, May 26 at 10am on Proposition 8. The measure which passed last November, wrote discrimination into the California constitution by disallowing same-sex couples the right to marry. More details here (pdf).

Depending on the ruling, celebrations or protests are scheduled to occur throughout the state and across the nation early next week. To find out about events that may be occurring in your area visit the DayOfDecision.com

Today Washington governor Christine Gregoire signed “The Everything but Marriage” domestic partnership bill that grants new rights related to unemployment, disability, insurance, adoption and child custody. Said Governor Gregoire on QFox13.com:

“Today we are strengthening Washington by strengthening families. From the first bill I signed in 2007 to today’s bills, we have proudly made immeasurable strides on behalf of LGBT individuals and families. This represents the culmination of incredible work to treat all Washingtonians equally.”
…
“Many brave families have come forward to share their lives, their struggles and their moments of joy hard-working men and women who are in committed relationships, raising children, attending their places of worship, and volunteering in their communities. After meeting these families, people have come to know that lesbian and gay families are no different than their own. And what has naturally followed is the unsettling notion that despite the sameness of straight couples and gay and lesbian couples, there are, in fact, legal barriers that prevent the same treatment.”

Unsurprisingly, opponents have already filed a referendum to overturn the law.

Today marks the one year anniversary of the California Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage that had been in place since 2000.

My partner and I were in Sydney on vacation at the time and didn’t realize it had happened until after we got home. And thanks to bad case of vacation hangover, and that we were already domestic partners, we didn’t feel particularly invested in the decision, I’m embarrassed to say.  Sure we were glad the ban had been overturned but we had already decided to wait until 2009 to possibly tie the knot, provided same-sex marriage was legal at the time and that any initiative against it was defeated in the fall.

Over the next month we didn’t discuss or think about the ruling much despite the media frenzy that was  building all around the state in the lead up to 5:oo p.m. on June 16, when the first same-sex weddings were to be performed.

I decided the day before that I wanted to go down to San Francisco City Hall and cover what would most certainly be a circus, as the first gay marriages were sure to bring out the most hateful and bigoted elements of our society, decrying that these marriages were an abomination and would bring about the end days.

After I covered the story, I promptly went home and asked my partner of 8 year to marry me. The weight of the day’s events, both historical and emotional, did not leave me any choice. Fortunately his answer was yes. We exchanged vows 3 months later.

So while not particularly important to us at the time,  May 15, 2008 is now an incredibly important day, as it set in motion the events that allowed me to marry the love of my life. And June 16, thirty days from now, will also be an extraordinarily significant day, not only because it was the day I proposed, but it is the first anniversary of those couples who chose to be  married in that “circus” the very first night.

So it is my sincere hope that the California Supreme Court will soon overturn Prop 8 and grant marriage equality to all Californians, and allow those brave couples to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. And allow us and the thousands that followed that day, to celebrate ours.