A celebratory crowd in West Hollywood spilled out of the city's bars and coffeeshops and into the street on Thursday to celebrate the end of California's same-sex marriage ban. Friends and families, couples and singles both gay and straight, flocked to a rally planned by the organizations behind the legal win. Standing under an arrangement of flowers and flanked by wedding cakes, the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center's CEO, Lorri L. Jean, cheered the victory. "Today, the California supreme court said, 'Let them eat cake,'" she crowed.
With dozens of TV crews gathered and a news helicopter buzzing above a-closed-to-traffic San Vicente Boulevard, attendees strained to hear the advocates' speeches and see over the cameras, signs, and wedding veils. A kid-friendly crowd—many children were propped on shoulders—listened intently and smiled with satisfaction. Emotion was bubbling over.
Speakers, including West Hollywood mayor Jeffrey Prang, warned the crowd of the right-wing effort to put a initiative on the November ballot that could constitutionally ban same-sex marriage in the state. Volunteers passed around pamphlets warning people about the ballot initiative and how to take action against it. The activism didn't dampen most spirits, though.
"I've been waiting 24 years to make this proposal," Lambda Legal senior counsel Jenny Pizer said before asking her partner, Doreena Wong, to marry her.
The mood was joyous if somewhat sober, as if the crowd—which filled almost two huge city blocks—was in disbelief.
Equality California's board vice president, Cary Davidson, said he planned to propose to his partner of 18 years. "If he'll marry me, we will be treated equally under California law."
After cake was served on the speakers stage, attendees on the street were handed their own slice of cake. As the sun set over the visible Hollywood Hills, a relaxed block party scene took over.
By the time she wrapped up her hosting duties, Jean told the crowd she and her partner were taking advantage of the historic ruling: "We're getting hitched too!" (Shana Naomi Krochmal and Neal Broverman, The Advocate)
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