Pedestrian

The supporters of Proposition 8 in California give married gays and lesbians an unusual amount power.  They

• refer to our wish to be equal and treated fairly as “Armageddon;”
• suggest that our marriage rights will result in loss of freedom of religion;
• state that denying marriage rights to gays and lesbians is more important than the presidential election;
• consider gays and lesbians to be supported by the devil and that Satan is attacking traditional marriage;
• think that allowing anyone to marry the person they love is a cultural and spiritual war/battle between God’s Army and Satan;
• and we are a threat to civilization, and so on.

I’ve married my wife three times and, if necessary, I’ll keep marrying her until we are really truly fully legally married.  I’m continually surprised that the religious right thinks that our little marriage is so powerful that the mere thought or act of us loving each other and being married could case so much destruction.

Where are our wonder woman capes and superhero powers?

Our marriage is all about protection love commitment support and our daily lives full of our daughter, friends, family, working, sleeping, eating, and matching clothes and shoes before we go out the door in the morning.

On October 5, 2008, our friends, the Reverends Jim Lowder and Jerene Broadway, married us.  One of them asked me,

Leanne, do you take Moya in laughter and tears, in health and illness, in success and failure, in conflict and tranquility, in doubt and trust to be your lawfully wedded wife?

I replied, while beaming smiles and dripping a few tears:

Yes, I take Moya not only for those, but also
for your gentleness and sensitivity,
for your openness and inclusivity towards everyone and everything in the world, even those who would want to hurt you or would like to deny rights to you,
for your warm heart and your unique understanding of me,
for your search for truth and beauty,
for your dry wit and silly jokes about anyone/anything walking into a bar,
for your patience with my grumpy mornings,
for your amazing arm-candy skills at all social events,
for your unwavering support as first lady of OTIVO,
for every time you come back to me after an argument or disagreement when you are often the first to make amends,
for your courage to embark along new and untried paths as your conscience demands,
and for so many innumerable other beauties you bring into my life.

I will strive to be slow to anger and quick to forgive.

I promise to continue to love you faithfully, as it is your heart that moves me, your mind that challenges and inspires me, and your hands that I wish to hold until the end of my days.

I will listen to you carefully, consider your ideas, and be open to the many things I can learn from you;
I will keep growing old and wrinkling and changing, but I intend and hope to always be someone whom you can be proud to call your wife.

At the end of those vows, the world did not end, civilization did not stop, the lives of everyone who hates us were in no way impacted.  Instead, Moya and I added a bit more love and camaraderie to the planet on an amazing sunny warm day at Ocean Beach in San Francisco.

Everyone knows that a warm sunny day at Ocean Beach is truly a miracle and an act of God.

Legally Wed!