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Stuart Gaffney and John Lewis celebrate their wedding day in San Francisco City Hall on Feb. 12, 2004. |
When the California Supreme Court overturned the state law banning same-sex marriage yesterday, the news spread quickly at UCSF.
Two of the plaintiffs in the successful lawsuit are UCSF employees, dozens of UCSF students and staff members entered into same-sex marriages at San Francisco City Hall in 2004, and more than 1,500 campus community members are thought to be lesbian or gay.
The court's 4-to-3 decision, declaring California's law against same-sex marriage unconstitutional, came in response to a suit filed by same-sex couples who married in 2004, only to have their marriages annulled. Among them was UCSF CAPS Policy Analyst Stuart Gaffney, who waited outside the court building to hear the verdict that reaffirmed his marriage to John Lewis.
"I am so happy I get to marry the man I love," Gaffney beamed. "John and I are going to be newlyweds after 21 years together."
Diane Sabin, DC, executive director of the Lesbian Health & Research Center, was the other UCSF plaintiff.
Ellen Haller, MD, adjunct professor of psychiatry, whose partner is Joanne Engel, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, shared Gaffney's happiness. "I broke into tears of joy! I feel validated that my 22-year-long relationship is now equal to the marriages of my colleagues."
Same-sex couples with children were particularly elated by the decision. Cindy Lima, executive director of administration and project director for the medical center at Mission Bay, who after 20 years married in 2004 Kathy Burkart, chief financial officer of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, reported that their 14-year-old daughter "called me from her classroom moments after the decision - and the entire class cheered!"
Daniel Dominguez-Moncada, manager of staff HR services at Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, cheered the fact that "I can finally tell our 21-year-old adopted son that he is a legitimate child now!"
Debbie Hamolsky, RN, also of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, whose partner of 25 years is an HIV physician, noted that their 18-year-old daughter, the seventh gay co-parent adoption in the United States, has long wanted "to be legal."
Gay and lesbian couples who already considered themselves married were overjoyed by the affirmation they experienced in the court's decision.
Lisa Gerick, employee services director in the Department of Psychiatry, said, "My partner and I are looking forward to tying the knot - again - just in time for our 20th anniversary this year."
Jim Hunger of the TB control section, who married his partner in 2004, noted that they will now have more than one anniversary "as soon as the mechanism is in place for us to legally marry."
The decision had an immediate impact on some couples. Department Safety Adviser Kathleen Knowles reported, "My partner was so happy she called from a business trip in Washington to ask me to marry her - again."
Tacy Trowbridge, an HR instructional designer who had long planned to marry her partner this Saturday, rejoiced that "now when our family and friends gather to celebrate, we will have even more reason to rejoice."
Sandie McDonald, a dermatology nurse, exulted, "Now I can go past 'Will you marry me?' to "Let's set a date!'"
Barb Adler, a counselor at the AIDS Health Project, who has considered herself married since 2003, "really didn't think the court would vote this way."
Her surprise and pride were shared by Dave Swanson, a facilities administrator in epidemiology, who came out in the 1960s and feels "thankful to have experienced this [decision] in my lifetime, after experiencing family rejection, discharge from the armed forces, and loss of job and housing opportunities."
Associate Vice Chancellor Barbara French echoed his feelings. "I am stunned - I never thought I'd see this in my lifetime. I have two very mixed emotions: on the one hand, deeply moved, and on the other, the feeling that it's about time. How powerful it is to have the highest court in the state stand up for the rights of me and my family."
Psychiatry Clinical Professor James Dilley, MD, who chairs the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues, is just as thrilled. "It is a wonderful affirmation of gay and lesbian people as full members of society."
Swedish nursing student Mats Christiansen noted with surprise, "Darn - you Californians managed to beat Sweden!"
Many, however, also sounded a cautionary note. Ian Harwood, a graduate student who scooped many local and national reporters by announcing the verdict on a UCSF listserv minutes after its issuance, reported that his mind was "filled with questions." A state coalition is attempting to put on the November ballot a measure that would block the court's decision by declaring same-sex marriage unconstitutional in California, as it is in 26 other states.
LGBT Resources Director Shane Snowdon noted, "Joy over the verdict is certainly not universal. Many Californians, including UCSF community members, oppose same-sex marriage."
Warned Ray Vitale, an analyst in epidemiology: "Let's all whoop it up today, and be ready to buckle up tomorrow to retain this freedom in November."
Analyst Justin Akers, however, is "confident that the citizens of California will reaffirm the court's clear message that civil rights cannot be selectively assigned."
Many who are themselves not lesbian or gay shared their colleagues' happiness about the verdict. Said Amy Levine, executive director of the Center for Gender Equity, "Finally, my lesbian and gay friends can have the same civil rights my husband and I enjoy."
Added Linda Centore, RN, PhD, clinical professor of dentistry, "I am stunned, elated and close to tears. Today is a day for all lesbian and gay people and their allies to be out and celebrating!"
Pediatrics Professor Claire Brindis, DrPH, chair of the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on the Status of Women, observed that "this is a monumental acknowledgment of the basic and universal rights of women and men." Her colleague Diane Wara, MD, also a pediatrics professor, called the verdict "long overdue - one more step towards equality for people who inhabit our increasingly diverse world."
Ellen Goldstein, community program manager at San Francisco General Hospital, plans to marry her opposite-sex partner in two weeks, yet both she and her fiancé found the court's decision meaningful.
"In Jewish tradition, a blessing is said over a glass of wine to signify the sweetness of marriage," Goldstein said. "Some people choose a variation in which some of the wine is spilled out, to signify that the cup is less sweet, since gays and lesbians cannot marry. When I called my partner to tell him about the decision, he said, 'Well, I guess we can spill out less of the wine.'"
Summarized Joel Gonzales, admissions director for the School of Pharmacy, "It's a beautiful day when a court affirms that fundamental rights should be the same, regardless of who you are and who you love."
Related Links:
UCSF LGBT Resources
Tears of Joy as Same-Sex Marriage Advocates Get the Word
SFGate.com, May 15, 2008
