Gay marriages finally commenced in California, setting the pace for the rest of the country. National newspapers approached the subject of gay marriage from a number of angles. They wrote stories that were giddy with anticipation; they spoke of gay marriage’s bringing a reversal of fortunes to couples and the economy, and often, they warned people to proceed with caution.
In the run up to the big day, The New York Times ran a piece on Saturday headlined, “California Braces for ‘New Summer of Love.’”
The story follows couples such as James H. Bainton and Jeffrey Rue gearing up for their walk down the aisle and recapped how they are rewriting all the rules. Bainton said: “It feels like we’re sitting here making history.”
The article sounded a few notes of skepticism and caution: “There is still the memory of the euphoria, and letdown, in 2004, when nearly 4,000 same-sex couples stood in line to marry in San Francisco, only to have the marriages nullified by the state five months later,” notes the Times.
In an article in the Los Angeles Times on Sunday, headlined “Some gays are asking themselves, ‘I do?’” couples find themselves asking the same questions straights ask themselves, but in their case it is weighing heavier on their consciences. “In a sense, it changes nothing," said Jeffrey Chernin, a family therapist who works with both gay and straight couples. "But in another sense, it changes everything."
Suddenly finances are front and center -- with couples being warned against formalizing their union if one or both of the partners is HIV-positive -- “All of a sudden, half of their earnings will be their partners' earnings. And if they want to leave each other, it's not as easy as just packing a bag and moving out,” said Steven Stolar a family attorney in Beverly Hills.
The article notes, “For gay couples … the decision carries pressure to act quickly, since marriage will no longer be an option if a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage passes in November.”
"I think this whole marriage thing is causing more anxiety and fights among gay couples than anything has before," said, the source, identified only as a Hollywood professional.
Joe Matthews’s opinion piece in The Washington Post titled, “The New ‘I Do’: The Way We’re Handling It Is Pretty Half-baked,” warns that everyone should “Hold the champagne.” Because of the forthcoming ballot initiative, he says, “California could become an expensive, time-consuming quagmire -- gay marriage's Vietnam.” As Matthews explains, the California ballot process is never-ending. "This is one of the problems with the initiative process," said Pamela S. Karlan, a scholar at Stanford Law School. "There isn't any way of saying, 'The voters have spoken, and it's over.' They can be asked to speak on it again and again and again.'”
And he says, in some cases, marriage offers scant benefits over the current domestic partnerships available in the state.
An AP story, “California Same-Sex Weddings Will Affect Other States,” also made note of the “sobering” challenges that lie ahead. Because many states don’t recognize the legality of the unions, a divorce may be hard to obtain. “This is a very serious undertaking," said Richard Williams, a Chicago lawyer who has been helping local same-sex couples weigh their options.” The report notes that the usual areas of contention -- “inheritance, medical decision-making, health and pension benefits, and child custody” -- will be harder to navigate than usual for gays dealing with different state and city laws. A coalition of nine gay rights groups is encouraging people not to sue, to “Make Change, Not Lawsuits.” Their plea: “One thing couples shouldn't do is just sue the federal government or, if they are from other states, go sue their home state or their employer to recognize their marriage or open up the health plan," it added. "Bad rulings will make it longer."
The New York Post noted this in its special snarky way in a piece headlined “Divorce Lawyers Licking Their Chops.”
“Gay couples in California last night began a stampede to the altar, but it was New York divorce lawyers doing the celebrating -- over the prospect of a wave of new clients from same-sex marriages gone bust.”
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