MASSACHUSSETTS MAKES HISTORY!!!
May. 17th, 2004 01:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
greenie_breizhOH.
MY.
GOD.
MASS, I love you. Julie and Hillary Goodridge, all seven of you plaintiffs and Marie Bonauto, who went and fought this in the court for us, THANK YOU. Today is a wonderful day in history.
I'm TOTALLY HYPER right now, and the thought that I'm gonna have to play a frisbee championship, study and debate tonight makes me think I should try coffee. But no matter what, TODAY ROCKS.
All right, so I left my dorm at 5:30 this morning not even sure I was supposed to be outside that early. Turns out I could. I walked and ran and bounced to the train station and got the 5:47 train. Must have gotten to the City Hall around 6:30 or something, about 40 or 50 couples were already queuing. I hung out around the couples and took pictures.
At 7:30, they gave out numbers to couples ("numbers are only for couples! others step aside!") and I stuck around, half-listening to some interviews (some couples were getting interviewed like mad!!) and grinning madly at everything. Then I went around and discovered that some people had started gathering around the exit of the city hall with signs like
Here come the brides
Here come the grooms
Yay!
Today is your day
We beat the odds - Massachusetts makes history
Catholics for gay marriage
Happy day Happy day Happy day
And of course gay flags!! I joined the group, got stickers, including a volunteer sticker and a free equalmarriage.org t-shirt (GLAD, MassEquality, Equalmarriage & other associations had gotten all together for the day)!! There was a lot of waiting where we just stood and talked and took turns to the bathroom, and cheered new couples who went to join the line!!! Then...
THE FIRST SAME-SEX COUPLES WALKED OUT OF THE BOSTON CITY HALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And we almost got trampled by the crazy press with their cameras!!! There was a really *adorable* couple that was holding a big gay flag next to me and one of the women kinda pulled me back because she was afraid I'd get hurt :) :) But I didn't, I probably just got a blurry picture out of it! Those three first same-sex couples were the plaintiffs in the Goodridge case and so they had special press attention.
After that, same-sex couples less mediatized started coming out of the city hall with their affidavit. We cheered like MAD for each couple, and I got a kiss from two women because I was doing the victory sign!! There was happiness and craziness and tears and smiles and cheers and little dances of joys and babies not understanding what the hell was happening to them and kisses and affidavits brandished proudly. FINALLY. Some couples tried to escape our cheers but we wouldn't let them!! Someone started cheering two policemen as they walked in our "aisle" jokingly, and we almost cheered two women who were not getting married. IT WAS AMAZING.
We saw JULIE & HILLARY GOODRIDGE!!! They got their license in the middle of the morning and didn't walk down our aisle because they had so much press, but just seeing them was heart-warming and amazing and beautiful. I'm so happy for them and their five-year-old daughter. The three college students I hung out with had a former English teacher who was getting married and so they got her flowers and everything, so cute!! I had to leave just after that couple, awwww. But I got a good dose of joy and equality and it was just awesome : I EVEN GOT TO SEE THE FIRST COUPLE OFFICIALLY MARRIED!!! One of the guys was showing his ring on his finger proudly, awww!! Then I went and bought the New York Times, the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald and grabbed the Metro because today's too big to not keep the headlines - and believe me I won't miss tomorrow's paper, either. I can't wait to see all the pictures I took even though I RAN OUT OF FILM and I didn't think about grabbing extra film this morning and my stupid batteries ran out so I couldn't use my digital camera!! Nooooo.
And people talked to me while I was waiting for the train in North Station, cuz I was with my flag and all. I love when that happens. The feeling of community (even though those people weren't gay at all) is just amazing and sweet.
Now on to frisbee and debate and dancing and bouncing and hugging all the people I can find. Today's a great day for the whole world and I don't think any average Massachussetts residents will ever want to break those marriages in those years. It's too great and too joyful.
We haven't won the whole battle, but today was a BIG, WONDERFUL, HAPPY STEP.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE COUPLES WHO GOT MARRIED TODAY.
MY.
GOD.
MASS, I love you. Julie and Hillary Goodridge, all seven of you plaintiffs and Marie Bonauto, who went and fought this in the court for us, THANK YOU. Today is a wonderful day in history.
I'm TOTALLY HYPER right now, and the thought that I'm gonna have to play a frisbee championship, study and debate tonight makes me think I should try coffee. But no matter what, TODAY ROCKS.
All right, so I left my dorm at 5:30 this morning not even sure I was supposed to be outside that early. Turns out I could. I walked and ran and bounced to the train station and got the 5:47 train. Must have gotten to the City Hall around 6:30 or something, about 40 or 50 couples were already queuing. I hung out around the couples and took pictures.
At 7:30, they gave out numbers to couples ("numbers are only for couples! others step aside!") and I stuck around, half-listening to some interviews (some couples were getting interviewed like mad!!) and grinning madly at everything. Then I went around and discovered that some people had started gathering around the exit of the city hall with signs like
Here come the brides
Here come the grooms
Yay!
Today is your day
We beat the odds - Massachusetts makes history
Catholics for gay marriage
Happy day Happy day Happy day
And of course gay flags!! I joined the group, got stickers, including a volunteer sticker and a free equalmarriage.org t-shirt (GLAD, MassEquality, Equalmarriage & other associations had gotten all together for the day)!! There was a lot of waiting where we just stood and talked and took turns to the bathroom, and cheered new couples who went to join the line!!! Then...
THE FIRST SAME-SEX COUPLES WALKED OUT OF THE BOSTON CITY HALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And we almost got trampled by the crazy press with their cameras!!! There was a really *adorable* couple that was holding a big gay flag next to me and one of the women kinda pulled me back because she was afraid I'd get hurt :) :) But I didn't, I probably just got a blurry picture out of it! Those three first same-sex couples were the plaintiffs in the Goodridge case and so they had special press attention.
After that, same-sex couples less mediatized started coming out of the city hall with their affidavit. We cheered like MAD for each couple, and I got a kiss from two women because I was doing the victory sign!! There was happiness and craziness and tears and smiles and cheers and little dances of joys and babies not understanding what the hell was happening to them and kisses and affidavits brandished proudly. FINALLY. Some couples tried to escape our cheers but we wouldn't let them!! Someone started cheering two policemen as they walked in our "aisle" jokingly, and we almost cheered two women who were not getting married. IT WAS AMAZING.
We saw JULIE & HILLARY GOODRIDGE!!! They got their license in the middle of the morning and didn't walk down our aisle because they had so much press, but just seeing them was heart-warming and amazing and beautiful. I'm so happy for them and their five-year-old daughter. The three college students I hung out with had a former English teacher who was getting married and so they got her flowers and everything, so cute!! I had to leave just after that couple, awwww. But I got a good dose of joy and equality and it was just awesome : I EVEN GOT TO SEE THE FIRST COUPLE OFFICIALLY MARRIED!!! One of the guys was showing his ring on his finger proudly, awww!! Then I went and bought the New York Times, the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald and grabbed the Metro because today's too big to not keep the headlines - and believe me I won't miss tomorrow's paper, either. I can't wait to see all the pictures I took even though I RAN OUT OF FILM and I didn't think about grabbing extra film this morning and my stupid batteries ran out so I couldn't use my digital camera!! Nooooo.
And people talked to me while I was waiting for the train in North Station, cuz I was with my flag and all. I love when that happens. The feeling of community (even though those people weren't gay at all) is just amazing and sweet.
Now on to frisbee and debate and dancing and bouncing and hugging all the people I can find. Today's a great day for the whole world and I don't think any average Massachussetts residents will ever want to break those marriages in those years. It's too great and too joyful.
We haven't won the whole battle, but today was a BIG, WONDERFUL, HAPPY STEP.
