Magical

Today is a great day for California. Justice and equality have finally prevailed, and the horrible Prop 8 has been struck down! I'm so excited I could squeal for joy. San Francisco is abuzz with excitement, and all over the city there were celebrations last night.

When same sex marriages were first legalized in California back in June 2008, I was living in my old apartment that was just a few minutes' walk from City Hall. Immediately there were couples lined up anxiously outside, and all through the neighborhood I could see people happily on their way to exercise their long-awaited right to marry. It was a truly magical time to be in San Francisco. The whole city seemed aglow with love and joy. One of the sweetest things I've ever seen was two handsome men all decked out in their tuxes, hand in hand, running towards City Hall and laughing with delight.

Seeing all this happen really brought home to me what it must be like to be denied the right to marry the person you love. So many couples said to hell with the big wedding, the catering, the flowers, the fancy location (although I shouldn't knock City Hall; it's a pretty damn gorgeous building) -- these people were deeply in love and they had waited, perhaps for many years, and they simply couldn't wait anymore. And there was something so profoundly romantic about that, because being able to get married is so taken for granted by the rest of us that we'll put it off for months or even years while we save up the necessary money and search for the perfect location, the perfect dress, the perfect caterer. But when all you really want is to marry that person, it's the only thing that matters, isn't it? And for those couples, no amount of gifts and no number of guests could have made their moment any more special. What is an everyday thing for the rest of us was a history-making achievement for them. The simple right to love someone and marry them; does anything symbolize life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness any better than that? 

The struggle is of course far from over, but with this decision we've made an important step in the right direction. The time WILL come when marriage equality is a national policy and not just a statewide one, I really believe that. But I'm happy to see California being among the first; this is the California I'm proud to be a part of.

In related news, one of my hats is being worn to a gay wedding this weekend, and I am beyond thrilled. :-)

Dress: J. Crew

Cardigan: a gift from Mom

Tights: Hue

Shoes: John Fluevog