Good news for a change

A long time coming, so I won't sully the day by dwelling on those whose first response to these people's happiness is the gnashing of teeth and rending of garments.

Hundreds of Same-Sex Couples Wed in California
By JESSE McKINLEY

SAN FRANCISCO — With a quiet pride and a sense of history, hundreds of gay and lesbian couples across California wed on Tuesday, giving a human face to a landmark court decision and a powerful opening salvo in what is expected to be a bruising fall campaign here over the issue of same-sex marriage.

The marriages here and in many counties began just after 8 a.m. Pacific time, with the opening of the clerk’s office. But unlike 2004, when San Francisco broke state law to wed thousands of gay couples in a mad rush, many of Tuesday’s ceremonies had a sense of calm and permanence for gay newlyweds.

“It was so legally ambiguous last time,” said Lorie Franks, 43, who had come to City Hall to marry her partner, AnneMary Franks, in 2004 as well. “It was really touching, but we kind of knew it was on thin ice. This time, to me, feels more real.”

...In San Francisco, Del Martin, 87, and Phyllis Lyon, 84, longtime gay rights activists, were the first and only couple to be wed on Monday, saying their vows in the office of Mayor Gavin Newsom, before emerging to a throng of reporters and screaming well-wishers.

And, in a related story, NO heterosexual married couples spontaneously combusted.