California Supreme Court will rule on our relationship’s legal
equality. Same-sex marriage or something less.
For my partner and I the road to having our relationship fully
recognized by the state has been a long one.
In 1996 we met (though we had known each other before in college)
and fell in love. In December of 1997 we had a commitment ceremony
(I used to have a web page of that, don’t know where it is now 🙁 )
In 2000, we registered as Domestic Partners in the state of
California. In 2002, we adopted our dear
daughter. In 2004, we were
“married” in the San Francisco weddings instigated by Gavin
Newsom (and those marriages are the ones that lead to the court
case about to be decided). In 2005, our DP was enhanced by the
legislature.
Now, in 2008 we’ll see if we reach full equality.
If the court decides our relationship is indeed equal, we will have
fulfilled a life long dream in our chosen state and will be able to
tell our children that “yes, we are married” without having to
qualify that statement or try to explain to them why such
discrimination still exists against our family.
If the court decides that it is perfectly fine to discriminate
against us and our children, we will be sorely disappointed… and
we will fight on.
Here’s hoping the former is the case.