Observd

Gay marriage is finally happening. It’s full circle on something that I’ve been working on since 2004 when I worked on the Georgian’s Against Discrimination campaign in Georgia. I have to thank all the people who fought long and hard for it here in California. After 2004 I was rather burned out on gay marriage… well, politics in general really. I told myself that I didn’t believe in marriage anyway, but now that it’s here… the excitement in the air sparkles. Brian and I are thinking about tying the knot before November.

Jeff Parker and his partner Jim are my first wedding clients, getting married on 8th of July at Frank Lloyd Wrights Marin County Center. Exciting!

For those of you who did not get a chance to see the announcement, I have a few pictures from San Francisco City Hall.

I was also down there on Monday to take pictures of the first few couples getting hitched. It was nowhere near the madhouse that it was in 2004, when hundreds of couples tried to squeeze through city hall before the state revoked their marriage licenses. Monday was well scripted and well prepared for. Marriages were by appointment only: 8 every half-hour. There was a fleet of judges were on duty all day to speed up the process. There was only one Fred-Phelps-like Christian protester across the street. Practically every wide-open space in city hall was being used in some part of the marriage process. I was totally surprised by how many couples brought children with them.

Below is a collection of my flickr photos of the first few couples getting hitched.

A few stories that I loved where:

Kory O’Rourke and Kate Sheppard were at city hall four years ago, and #2 in line. This time they’ve got a little more of a handful with Keaton and Korbyn in tow.

David Bowers and Brucie Ivie are finally tying the knot. They met at Badlands 27 years and 3 months ago… found an apartment together 7 days later. And they’re not even lesbians!

Some of my photos got into Reuters YouWitness photos of the week. Not sure how long the link will work, but here it is.

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