"I'm getting hitched. I think it's wonderful. It's great. I think the hard part is going to be convincing my boyfriend to marry me," says David Wichman.
No dancing in the streets, but there is a celebratory mood in the Castro, the place where the battle has been fought and where they feel they have won.
"This is not special rights. This is not gay rights. This is civil rights," says Dave Goldman.
"It affirms what so many people know to be true -- that a marriage is a marriage between two people. So it doesn't matter the gender, the sexual orientation," says gay marriage counselor Dr. Michael Bettinger.
The owner of one clothing store created an instant celebration sale.
The Castro is where many gay and lesbian people live. It's home to those who have had to struggle.
"Finally we win. I was the first person in the state of Iowa to apply for a same-sex marriage license in 1976," says Kenneth Bunch.
There is a sense of euphoria in the Castro, but with it a dose of reality. There is still a ballot measure to contend with and all of the legal ramifications that marriage brings.
"Straight people think that we're crazy. Why put yourself in a state of ability to divorce. That's what this is -- the right to divorce," says Dan Berger.
ABC7 Extra
Watch unedited reaction to the ruling from various parties involved.
- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom
- City Attorney Dennis Herrera
- Randy Thomasson, Founder & President of Campaign for Children & Families (Part 1)
- Randy Thomasson, Founder & President of Campaign for Children & Families (Part 2)
- Executive Director Kate Kendall and Legal Director Shannon Mintner with the National Center for Lesbian Rights
- San Francisco Chief Deputy City Attorney Terri Stewart
- Dan Bernal, Spokesperson for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
- Senior Counsel Jenny Pfizer with Lambda Legal
- Executive Director Maya Harris of ACLU Northern California
LINKS:
- Download: Read a summary of the California Supreme Court's ruling
- Court documents filed in the California marriage case
- Massachusetts' gay marriage decision (Goodridge v. Mass. Department of Public Health -- Nov. 18, 2003).
- Same-sex marriage legislation in the United States by state (map)
- Same-Sex Marriage: Developments in the Law
- Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders: Marriage Equality
