Imagine being yelled at by the religious right (with slogans such as "repent" and "sinner") while waiting with your loved one for your marriage license. That, apparently, is part of what's been happening in front of the S.F. City Hall.
There is a movement afoot to show support for those brave people, many of whom are already parents and partners of many years. Consider sending flowers and a congratulations message.
Inspired by an earlier post on DailyKos, I emailed a florist in S.F.(Flowers by the Bay) and asked them to deliver a bouquet to a random same-sex couple waiting for the marriage license at City Hall. That was Thursday night. I wanted to remain anonymous and didn't include my tel. number. I wished the couple much love and happiness, and expressed my admiration for their actions.
Just on Friday, the same florist received over 100 similar requests from all over the country, and a lot of those calls were from traditionally anti-gay states.
These actions are beginning to garner media attention (San Francisco Chronicle, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, also in an upcoming issue of Wired).
From today's issue of the San Francisco Chronicle:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/02/21/MNGEP55KOA1.DTL
"Fueled by one oft-forwarded e-mail and a Web-log, callers from across the country have flooded San Francisco's flower shops, asking for bouquets to be donated to random same-sex couples waiting in line to get hitched....
"You just can't imagine what a message it is way back here in Minnesota. You turn on your TV, and there are more and more couples getting married," Reitan said Friday through tears. "I'm hoping whoever got the flowers realizes how special it was for them to do that. They're doing it not only for themselves, they're doing it for a young man back here in Minnesota who looks forward to finding someone to love, to cherish and to celebrate that love in a wedding and call it marriage."
The idea apparently first surfaced in Minnesota, and has since been floated on several blogs. There is more info at http://www.livejournal.com/community/twin_cities/517426.html
Links for florists:
Flowers by the Bay at 415-357-0202 and 888-217-9119
http://www.flowersbythebay.com
Take a look also at Flowers for Al and Don, they've already collected over $4000 in donations and are organizing flower deliveries.
http://www.darrenbarefoot.com/flowers/
Personally, I get ticked off when Josh Marshall and others on the left express opposition to gay marriage because of worries that it will worsen the right-wing backlash. I've had enough of fear-mongering on the right and tip-toeing on the left (a la Tom Daschle and co.). Things can't get much worse, given the rampant corruption and right-wing extremism. Now is the time to fight back and support equal rights.