Source: San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, San Jose Mercury News
San Francisco -- There were whoops of joys and hugs and tears among scores of gay rights advocates and same-sex couples this morning outside the California Supreme Court building in San Francisco as word spread that the justices had cleared the way for gay and lesbian marriages.
Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, a gay rights group, ran out of the building on McAllister Street and screamed, "We won!" just after the decision was released at 10 a.m. Many people unfurled California state flags with rainbow stripes sewn on across the bottom.
A spokesman for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom sent a simple e-mail to his press staff: "We won."
Holding up a sign that says, "Life feels different when you're married," Helen Pontac said she was beyond words.
"Oh, wow," she said. "It felt so good when we got married in San Francisco. This feels better."
She hugged her partner Shelly Bailes. "The best day of my life was when I met Helen," Bailes said. "This was as good as that."
Both women said they have been together for 34 years. Added Bailes, "This feels good for us. But I can't imagine what it means for all those young couples with their entire lives ahead of them."
Among those celebrating at the courthouse were Myra Beals and Ida Matson, of Mendocino, who were among the plaintiffs in the case. "It's been a great privilege to be a part of this," Beals said. "When we go home, we're going to be mobbed by our friends, our family and our neighbors. We have been promising them the biggest wedding they've ever seen."
"This is an incredibly historic day," said Judy Appel, executive director of Our Families Coalition, who is raising two children with her partner in Berkeley. "I'm so thrilled, I'm so excited for what this means for my family and all Californians."
Dave Chandler, who along with his partner, Jeff Chandler, was a plaintiff in the case, said, "I'm just cheering the joy. I'm feeling the joy all over. I feel that our kids will be well-protected when we have all the rights, responsibilities and benefits that married couples enjoy. The state of California has renewed my hope."
He said his partner was at their San Mateo home watching their two children, ages 1 and 4. The couple was married on Valentine's Day 2004 at San Francisco City Hall, one of nearly 4,000 same-sex weddings that were later annulled by the state Supreme Court.
Stuart Gaffney hugged his partner and proclaimed, "We're going to be newlyweds after 21 years together."
David Bowers and his partner were the first in line at the court clerk's office and the first to get a copy of the decision. The couple were also married at City Hall in 2004.
"That was one of the best things of my life. This is the next best thing," Bowers said. "There's tears everywhere. This can't be bad."
Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, one of the plaintiffs in the case, said of the four justices who voted in favor of gay marriage, "I believe all four votes will be vindicated by history."
The three other justices, "in some future day, will wish they could take it back," she said.
"This is a wonderful day to be alive and to be in this movement," Kendell said.
Word of the decision spread quickly in the Castro District, for decades the city's gay epicenter. Around 11 a.m., a group of women in Harvey Milk Plaza hugged and screamed in celebration. One of the women, Irene Pick-Endrizzi, said she plans to remarry her partner of 15 years.
"I definitely believe the consciousness is evolving and it just takes time like everything else."
She expects a proposed constitutional amendment to ban the gay unions will fail with voters in November.
"My partner - wait, my wife - works in City Hall and she called me (with the news). We just celebrated our 15-year anniversary and both our birthdays are this week. It's the perfect time to have another party," Pick-Endrizzi said.
At his home in Toluca Lake, Jim Smith a parent and part of a same-sex relationship, also rejoiced. "I'm ecstatic," said Smith, 40, chief technology officer for an online advertising agency. "I think this is the beginning of the end of ostracism, bullying, and all the things that used to make people feel less human than others."
Nearby, inside the Twin Peaks bar, Mason Bowling, 61, said he recently celebrated his 30th anniversary with his partner, Patrick Fitzgerald, 58. The regulars inside the bar said they looking forward to the voter initiative in November.
Full article: Tears of joy as same-sex marriage advocates get the word | San Francisco Chronicle
California Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage | San Jose Mercury News
California Supreme Court overturns gay marriage ban | Los Angeles Times