Gay Marriage: Lezzies and Trannies and Bears! Oh my!

Well, California has done it. Now gay couples can get married there. During the past week, the headlines screamed "Hundreds of Same-Sex Couples Wed in California!" First it was Massachusetts and now California has joined the band wagon. Could NJ be far behind?

It seems like "same-sex" is the new pc way of describing a gay marriage. Yee-haw! "Same-sex Marriage" even appears on Wikipedia, stating that "The Netherlands was the first country to allow same-sex marriage in 2001. Same-sex marriages are also legal in Belgium, Canada, Norway, South Africa and Spain, along with two states in the United States, Massachusetts and California." Hey, it must be legit if it appears on Wikipedia.

I realize that these are historic times and we are setting precedents that can affect and shape the lives of future gay generations. Still, it's been a little hard for me to get overly excited about it. Currently I am without a partner and I really don't need all this "same-sex" marriage hoopla to remind me that I don't have one. I know it's selfish and it really irks me that I feel that way. And then, something happened that made me feel better.

One of the blogs I enjoy reading regularly is mattbites. Matt lives in Southern California with his partner Adam and a couple of doggies too. I got a big kick out of the personalized Christmas card he put on his blog this December. Matt writes about food and photography and the trips he takes with Adam. And last week they tied the knot!

I can't begin to tell you how excited I was to read about it in his blog. Apparently they had a major commitment ceremony 3 years ago but having the state recognize their union literally blew him away. Not only did they get married, but they were one of the first groups of same-sex couples to get married in Los Angeles County. And Matt brought his camera along to document the whole thing.

I really do believe this is something that you should all read. What happened here transcends the gay/straight issues or what's legal or moral. It gets down to basics. It's about love and validation of that love. And who doesn't need love and validation? We all do whether we are gay, straight, or somewhere inbetween.

So go take a look at his blog and let him know I sent you his way. And if you are reading this Matt, Congratulations. Thanks for reminding me what it's all about. Oh, and thanks for sharing your love story with the rest of us.

http://mattbites.typepad.com/mattbites/2008/06/making-history-tying-the-knot.html

A small side note: I was trying to redesign my blog template and inadvertently deleted some of my links and Widgets. I am still a novice at this so please bear with my while I work to fix the situation.