We’ve been together so long that this didn’t feel like some big crazy ‘last chance to go wild.’ It’s not The Hangover. We spent so much time and energy when we had our [first] ceremony that…we didn’t even take a honeymoon. It’s more just a chance to see our friends, get a little crazy and celebrate the fact that we can get married.
—Illustrator Andy Swist (second from left), who celebrated his bachelor party Friday night in New York. Swist and Brian Juergens, his partner of ten years, will be legally wed on Sunday.
Steve
Dennis and I will celebrate our 20th anniversary, next August 25.
Unfortunately, we live in Florida, and cannot move. (Professional licenses and employment make moving to another state basically impossible for us.)
As soon as the Federal DOMA act is repealed, we will get married. Until then, the legal complications (especially in Florida) are prohibitive.
Someone could set up a nice business arranging fly-in weddings, perhaps a little less tacky than in Las Vegas.
Taliaferro
No, it’s not, and the entire idea of a drunken blowout the night before the wedding is SO heterosexual. As long as we are allowed to marry at last, why not come up with better traditions? I agree with Steve – someone should come up with a business to allow people to fly or train in to be married – and certainly less tacky than Las Vegas. Come on people, we are the creative ones. Let’s show the straights how it SHOULD be done!
Jim Hlavac
What’s nice about New York State is that there is no residency requirement to get married there. Therefore, every gay couple in the nation can go there and get married, and go back to their homes, and immediately take it to court in one huge class action suit against DOMA which is in violation of at least the “full faith and credit” clause of the Constitution, and can be argued to be a bill of attainder (it’s any law that targets one small group of people, but no one else; levies a penalty; and does so without judicial proceedings — and that’s DOMA in a nutshell,) and in violation of our 1st Amendment rights to freedom of, from and for religion as we see fit and for the government to recognize our faith and unions such as we express them, and pursue our happiness – equally, without qualification.
We are not that special to warrant all these very special laws and attitudes against us. And the repeal of DADT and the NY State decision opens up a beautiful path to repeal of all the last laws against us. Though it will take another decade to have it adjudicated to our favor.
Abel
@Jim Hlavac: Lovely idea, and I only hope I live to see it happen. I might eke out another decade. But today is a great day, and I celebrate it.