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Please Don’t Divorce Alaska’s Married-in-California Couples
Submitted by E. Ross on Monday, 29 December 2008 – 5:30 PMNo Comment
The “Yes on 8” campaign has filed legal papers to nullify all 18,000 gay and lesbian marriages performed in California between May and November of 2008.
In response, dozens of families added wedding and holiday photos to a slideshow of same-sex couples who will be divorced if the anti-gay effort succeeds.
The California Supreme Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of Prop 8 in the spring.
The “Please Don’t Divorce” Project
In response to the threat to gay and lesbian families, The Courage Campaign created an online slideshow of same-sex married couples, along with friends and relatives who support them.
“It’s time to put a face to the 18,000 couples facing forcible divorce by the state of California. To put a face to marriage equality,” says the web site of the community photo project.
Dozens of families contributed wedding photos with the message “Please Don’t Divorce Us” and holiday pictures of their children, pets and Christmas trees.
Other supporters sent pictures saying, “Please Don’t Divorce Our Friends” or “Please Don’t Divorce Love.”
Gay Alaskans Married in California
There is no residency requirement for marrying in California, and same-sex couples from Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau were married there, along with couples from other states and countries.
Mo and Lin of Juneau were legally married in San Francisco on Sept. 15, eighteen years after their original, non-legal wedding. Juneau residents formed a “human arch of love and acceptance” for the couple to walk through during the October reception, and the party raised money for Equality California.
At the Anchorage rally protesting the passage of Prop 8, a gay couple put their wedding photo on their signs, and a lesbian couple brought copies of their Palm Springs marriage certificate. Both couples were interviewed by local television reporters at the Nov. 15 rally.
The same day at the Fairbanks City Hall protest, two young men posed for a photo with their sign: “Just Married, San Francisco, Sept 8, 2008.”
The state of Alaska does not recognize these marriages, but they are recognized in at least four states, Canada, and several other countries.
Please don’t divorce them!
View the pictures “Please Don’t Divorce Us” and add your wedding photo, or a photo in support of your married friends.
– Photo: Lori & Artemis with their California marriage certificate, at the Anchorage protest against Prop 8. (photo by Koala)
