CNN news on same-sex marriage
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CNN 17 June 2008
WEST HOLLYWOOD, California (AP) –
“Star Trek” star George Takei is ready to “live long and prosper” with his partner of 21 years.

Takei will marry 54-year-old Brad Altman on September 14 in Los Angeles. The 71-year-old actor, known for his role as Sulu on the “Star Trek” sci-fi TV series, was the first to pay $70 for a marriage license in West Hollywood early Tuesday. The marriage license is good for 90 days. Takei was jubilant, 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.” He told reporters and a swelling crowd outside the West Hollywood city auditorium “may equality live long and prosper.”
The California Supreme Court has legalized same-sex marriage.
SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) –
County clerk offices opened their doors Tuesday to hundreds of gay and lesbian couples with appointments to secure marriage licenses and exchange vows on the first full day same-sex nuptials were legal throughout California. From San Diego to Eureka, couples readied their formal wear, local licensing clerks expanded their staffs and conservative groups warned of a backlash as the nation’s most populous state joined Massachusetts in sanctioning gay unions. In San Francisco, a gay men’s chorus was singing on the front steps, where a party atmosphere was lit up by rainbow flags and supporters handing out cupcakes to happy couples.
Unlike Massachusetts, which legalized same-sex marriage in 2004, California has no residency requirement for marriage licenses. Many couples are expected to head west to wed. The May 15 California Supreme Court ruling that overturned the state’s bans on same-sex marriage became final at 5:01 p.m. Monday, and clerks in at least five counties extended their hours to mark the occasion. Already, dozens of same-sex couples have seized the opportunity to make their relationships official in the eyes of the law. They included actor and gay rights activist George Takei, who arrived with his longtime partner, Brad Altman, at West Hollywood City Hall on Tuesday morning to get their marriage license.
Every county was required to start issuing new gender-neutral marriage licenses Tuesday with spaces for “Party A” and “Party B” where “bride” and “groom” used to be.
On Monday, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who helped start the series of lawsuits that led the court to strike down California’s one-man-one-woman marriage laws, presided at the wedding of Del Martin, 87, and Phyllis Lyon, 83. Newsom picked the couple for the only ceremony Monday in City Hall in order to recognize their 55-year relationship and their status as pioneers of the gay rights movement. More than 650 same-sex couples have made appointments to get marriage licenses in San Francisco before the end of the month. Newsom called officiating the wedding “this extraordinary and humbling gift.” After the mayor pronounced Martin and Lyon “spouses for life,” the couple kissed, then emerged to a crowd of well-wishers who showered them with rose petals.
The celebrations are tempered by the reality that in a few months, Californians will go to the ballot box to vote on an initiative that would overturn the high court ruling and again ban gay marriage. On Monday, three lawmakers and a small group of other same-sex opponents gathered outside the Capitol to criticize the Supreme Court decision. They urged voters to approve the ballot measure.
In both San Francisco and Beverly Hills, where two women became the first same-sex couple in Los Angeles County to marry legally, small groups of protesters waved signs with sayings like “Repent or Perish,” but they were outnumbered by supporters waving rainbow-striped flags.









