The San Francisco Citizen

The streets of San Francisco were hopping yesterday what with the final day of Pride 2008.

See a slideshow of photos here and read all about it here.

Pride parade on Market Street with the Ferry Building in the background. Click to expand:

This fellow hung out at an intersection with his home-made bloodied crucifix for a good long while:

Perhaps he wouldn’t be too receptive to this mathematical identity: “Christian + Gay = O.K.”

And just when you think the whole world has gone gay, along comes a person who displayed heterosexual pride. His simple message: “I Love My Girlfriend.”

How sweet. See you next year.

Here’s the deal, all those same sex marriages at San Francisco’s City Hall are scheduled to get started on a Monday evening ten days from now - June 16th. Normally, the largest old-school dome in the Western Hemisphere wouldn’t be open that late, but these are extraordinary times.

So, opposite sex couples have only a limited window of opportunity to get a license and get married at City Hall before June 16. Before, couples were avoiding ceremonies on June 13th (as it’s on a Friday), but no longer. Everybody will be accomodated eventually, of course, but you need to plan ahead for best results. Things will get a little hectic starting June 16, 2008.

First, go here to get a reservation to get a wedding license. Then go here to check out what times for ceremonies they have for you. Keep checking as cancellations come up. Things are in flux, so stay informed.

When things get back to normal after the big summer rush, you’ll be offered a space for your ceremony in the small chapel downstairs or up here, at the top of the steps under the rotunda. But expect to see ceremonies all over the building very soon.

Congratulations! 

By now, you’ve seen headlines: Marriage Ruling a Victory for Newsom. Which is fair enough.

But you might have missed this recent piece about City Attorney Dennis Herrera in glossy, fluffy San Francisco Magazine:

The mayor may get all the credit, or blame, for pushing the marriage-equality issue before the Supreme Court, but the person who deserves it—San Francisco’s real Marrying Man—is Herrera.

Well, O.K. then.

The author of the article, freelance legal affairs journalist Susan Kostal then went on to consult her crystal ball and opine:

My own bet was a 4–3 vote in favor of marriage equality

Bingo. She got it right. Three cheers for writer Susan Kostal as well as up-and-coming Dennis Herrera.