SAN FRANCISCO — Serenaded by a gay men’s chorus, showered with rose petals and toasted with champagne, hundreds of tearful same-sex couples got married across the state Tuesday in what some are calling California’s new Summer of Love.
They rushed down to county clerks’ offices to obtain marriage licenses and exchange vows on the first full day that gay marriage became legal in California by order of the state’s highest court. They were joined by jubilant crowds that came to witness the event.
George Takei, who played Sulu on the original “Star Trek,” beamed as he and his partner of 21 years, Brad Altman, obtained a marriage license at the West Hollywood City Hall. They are planning a September wedding.
“I see before me people who personify love and commitment,” a grinning Takei told the crowd. He flashed the Vulcan hand salute from “Star Trek” and, in a twist on the Vulcan greeting from the TV series, said: “May equality live long and prosper.”
The weddings actually began Monday evening, when a few counties extended their office hours past 5 p.m., the moment the May 15 California Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage took effect. On Tuesday morning, though, all 58 counties began issuing licenses, and the rush was on.
There were scattered demonstrations outside some offices and courthouses. About a dozen protesters stood across the street from the Sacramento County recorder’s office, carrying signs that read, “Marriage = 1 man + 1 woman” and “Resist Judicial Tyranny.”
“It’s something to just pray about. It’s not a time to be joyful,” 16-year-old demonstrator Juliya Lyubezhanina said as she watched dozens of balloon- and rainbow flag-carrying couples.
Some couples came from out of state. Unlike Massachusetts, the only other state to legalize gay marriage, California has no residency requirement for a marriage license.
Although some couples said they preferred to wait until after the election because they feared their marriages would nullified at the ballot box, others said they wanted to make history, especially if the opportunity to get married could be lost.
“There’s a window, and we want to take advantage of that window, because who knows what’s going to happen in November,” said Jay Mendes, 40, as he and his partner of three years, Bantha Sao, 22, waited to obtain a marriage license in West Hollywood.
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