And, of course, a blogger best describes the atmosphere:
Aaron grabbed my hand and we walked forward up the steps.
Off to my side someone said, “Look, here goes someone else!”
Suddenly a roar erupted all around us. Things began to move more slowly. I grabbed Aaron’s hand tighter and started running forward up the steps. Everything was a blur. I lost his grip briefly as he stopped close to the entrance to accept a rose from someone in the crowd. I paused at the top of the steps, and turned to wait for him.
I’ve been in front of some large, happy, and cheering crowds before, but only on a stage — never with a throng pressing in from all sides, with clapping hands outstretched, cameras flashing, and a deafening roar.
I stood there facing the crowd as Aaron walked towards me with a sparkle-encrusted yellow rose and a huge grin on his face. As he reached me, I put my hand around his waist and waved to the crowd. I tried to look at all the people, but my eyes couldn’t focus.
We turned and walked into City Hall. My head spun. The lights seemed blinding after coming in from the street. A man in a tuxedo sat at a table and said something like “What are your intentions”, through it was probably more like “Are you here to declare your intentions?” A reporter stood behind him pointing a microphone connected to a minidisc recorder at us. People and press thronged around.
I looked at Aaron. He shrugged.
“Um, we’re here for a marriage license…?” I said.
It is indeed a new day.
EMAIL OF THE DAY: “Today is a day that had to happen. Somewhere, somehow, sometime it had to happen.
It has.
We have crossed the line (and not all of us are gay). We are all more free.
I’ve watched the ceremony. I’ve watched the love and commitment. I’ve watched, not a celebration of political victory or queer pride but the triumph of committed human beings in love. Indeed the triumph of basic humanity.
Gandhi believed that non-violence was successful because of its ability to graphically demonstrate the difference between right and wrong.
Today has.
It feels good. I’m glad to be on their side. Thank you for helping sort out my opinions and prejudices. Without your blog, I would not be here.
Thank you for enabling me to share in the victory of humanity.” I’m still reeling. I’ve dreamed of this day for so long, felt its arrival with such trepidation, and spent the day in a media blur. But now it’s over, I cannot but express one simple emotion: joy. I hope that, even if you differ, you can see why yesterday was such an extraordinary day for so many of us.
ON THE ROAD: Bewildering day yesterday. Five media interviews and a book signing/reading. The crowd at Barnes and Noble was big and friendly. Thanks to all of you who came. Anderson Cooper asked the best questions. I’ve actually known Anderson for well over a decade – we used to work out in the old Washington YMCA together. But that was before he was a mega-star. He’s still the same, though, engaging, funny, smart as a whip. One small note about media bias: it seems, sadly, that Fox News Channel won’t have me on at all. They like their gays, as Homer did: easily characterized as left-wing and flaming. Oh well.
QUOTE FOR THE DAY: “The decision in Brown versus Board of Education did not end all segregation; did not even end school segregation for many years. The civil rights movement was still waiting on other heroes and cases and laws. Yet, all sides of the equation knew that on May 17th, 1954, a line had been crossed in American history. The system of racial oppression in our country had lost its claim to legitimacy, and the rising demand for justice would not be denied.” – President George W. Bush. Yes, Mr president. And we just crossed another line. What a shame you are on the wrong side of it. It’s so easy to be a moral leader in hindsight. But history judges a president by how he deals with the civil rights issues of his own time, not of a generation before.
The Dish 