West Hollywood, California (Thursday June 19, 2008) - The historic day arrived, as did hundreds of jubilant betrothed couples and media who flocked to WeHo from around the world; hundreds of same-sex couples were licensed to marry and scores were wed in West Hollywood Park on Tuesday, June 17 2008. 
Elected officials and celbrities kicked off the wedding extravaganza held Tuesday at West Hollywood Park Auditorium. Visible l-r - Mayor Jeff Prang, Council members John Heilman and John Duran, Brad Altman and George Takei - Photo by Ryan Gierach. |
Beginning at 8:30 am, the affair had all the pomp and circumstance the City and County could provide, complete with a ribbon cutting and formal announcements and speeches, half a dozen marriage tents, balloons, floral arrangements and Hollywood stars.
Giving Hollywood flavor to the proceedings (and explaining the larger than usual media presence), George Takei, the actor who played the character "Sulu" on the original Star Trek, now 71 years old, and his beau Brad Altman, 54, became the first couple duly licensed by the County at the West Hollywood temporary licensing branch at WeHo Park Auditorium.
In his public remarks, Mr. Takei declared his excitement, saying, "it's going to be the only day like this in our lives and it is the only day like this in the history of America."
Finishing with the Vulcan split finger hand sign, he declared, “Let equality live long and prosper!”
County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said the day proved the promise of California.
“For decades we’ve said that in California you can do anything you want to do, but you can’t be who you want to be. That all changed today, and makes me proud to be a Californian.”
The betrothed began lining up before 7 am, with a smattering showing up to get their places in line around 6 am in West Hollywood Park - Photo by Ryan Gierach. |
The betrothed began lining up before 7 am, with a smattering showing up to get their places in line around 6 am.
When Mayor Jeffrey Prang declared, “Let the licensing commence,” the media scrum began, with dozens of news organizations from around the world scrambled for better camera angles of Mr. Takei and his beau Mr. Altman.
The media sign in sheet looked like a United Nations roster, with Tokyo Broadcasting Corporation, the British Broadcasting Corporation, Wall Street Journal, NY Times and the Washington Post – just to list the most recognizable names – present with cameras.
Local news crews all had cameras there, as well, making the occasion a challenge for West Hollywood’s public information office, not to mention City Manager Paul Arevalo, who took the job of shepherding Mr. Takei through the application and licensing procedure.
Mr. Arevalo told WeHoNews, “I brought my kid; this is a historic moment.”
Conspicuously absent from the history-making event were the customary Christian protesters – only three came out to damn the throng, and only one of those carried a sign.
While the spotlight shone on the celebrity, hundreds of same-sex couples for the first time in their lives, engaged in one of the fundamental of society’s institutions, marriage.
Wendy Averil (l) and Marilee France took their vows in West Hollywood Park - Photo by Ryan Gierach. |
Across the state, at least 2,386 licenses were issued, up from 460 on an average day.
The LA County Registrar/Recorder reported that 648 licenses issued in the county compared to 133 normally – an increase of 415, or almost three times.
In West Hollywood, 204 couples got licenses and 114 ceremonies made honest men and women out of 228 people.
The application process ran into a minor snag, however, when licenses began spewing forth from the printers brought out for the task.
A software glitch had all the licenses, countywide, printing out licenses giving the old gender-based Bride and Groom spaces to fill in rather than the Applicant A and B spaces.
Mr. Yaroslavsky hovered over the equipment and its crew to see that all went well; the problem got fixed within 45 minutes and non-gender specific Marriage Licenses began scrolling off the press.
Set up out in the park in the shade were wedding tents awaiting the history-making couples; city council members and others who had been deputized for the purpose and clergy from around town made themselves available for any and all who wished to tie the knot on the spot.
West Hollywood’s first married couple, Paul Park (l) and Dean Larkin, basking in the moment after they said, "I do." - Photo by Ryan Gierach. |
The first couple to be wed on West Hollywood ground was Dean Larkin, who owns a business in WeHo, and his partner, Dong Soo “Paul” Park, by Mayor Pro Tem Abbe Land.
Within moments, the second same-sex couple and first lesbian affianced to have their vows consecrated in WeHo, Marilee France and her sweetheart of 23 years, Wendy Averil, took their vows, officiated over by WeHo Council member John Duran.
The gay and lesbian clergy, Rev. Neil Thomas of Metropolitan Community Church LA (MCCLA) and Rabbi Denise Eger of Temple Kol Ami, said they had nothing but weddings on their calendar for as far ahead as they could see.
“I have at least three or four couples inside getting licenses and I’m doing more weddings later today at Zuma Beach,” Rev. Thomas said.
Rabbi Eger said she would be marrying people “all summer long.”
She noted the fundamental shift in society that the day represented and recalled the losses that the gay community suffered along the way to achieving equality in California.
Georg Takei and his partner Brad Altman signing their license amid the media crush - Photo by Ryan Gierach. |
“In 1988 when I came to West Hollywood to be the gay and lesbian rabbi,” Rabbi Eger said, “all I did was funerals.
“This is God’s loving gesture to do this in this time; all of those who passed during our struggle for acceptance, this is for them,” she said.
“How wonderful is it that the rest of my rabbinate here will be mostly weddings and baby christenings?”
Mayor Jeff Prang had thoughts along the same vein.
“When I came out in 1984 gays were relegated to the hidden areas, the bars and the worst neighborhoods," he said.
"Until 1996 [when the HAART HIV treatment drugs came available] we met, as a community, mostly for memorials.
“Now there’ll be more weddings than you can shake a stick at,” said Mayor Prang.
“This is a tectonic change, and makes me very proud that I am the openly-gay Mayor of the City of West Hollywood today.”
John Duran, while recognizing the losses of the past, emphasized a forward looking stance, especially given the constitutional amendment that appears on the November ballot that would invalidate the day’s marriages.
Tori and Kate Kuykendall, with their daughter, Zadia, exchanging vows in West Hollywood Park Tuesday, June 17 - Photo by Ryan Gierach. |
“This is both an end and a beginning,” he said. “We have to ask ourselves ‘What next?’"
As far as the impending anti-gay marriage initiative, goes, "We as a gay community are used to threats – we’ve been living under one threat or another for decades, so I think we’ll beat back the propostition' he promised.
“But we must ask ourselves, now that we've attained equal status under the law, imagine that, equality, do we export our success to other states," he asked.
"Or do we focus our efforts on issues that were important to us and that we couldn’t take the time to address, like the environment and poverty?”
For right now, Mayor Prang offered, “The best thing we can do to hold onto this right is to use it. Don’t wait to see what happens in November; get married this summer or fall."
One couple from Walnut, Linda Martinez and Regina Rodriguez, manifested that forward-looking thinking by coming to WeHo for their ceremony with the same no-nonsense, forward-looking attitude they approached their relationship's beginning.
The first same-sex couple to wed in West Hollywood, Dean Larkin and Paul Park, exchange rings in West Hollywood Park on June 17, 2008 - Photo by Ryan Gierach. |
In reality, Ms. Martinez put in, they moved in together about a month later. “We lived together for 9 years,” Ms. Martinez said. “We have supportive families and friends. This will make us very happy.”After applying for their license, they told WeHo News they would await their anniversary to have a wedding ceremony.
At a local diner several hours later, the pair ran into WeHo News again and declared that they had done the deed, showing off the wedding cake they were served as dessert, with two brides atop it.
Beaming, they said in concert, “We did it!”
Printer-friendly
E-mail to friend
