by Josh Payne
TENTATIVE!!!
NARR: Around 7:30 a.m. people began to gather in the cold morning rain. Holding umbrellas they rose from the subways and stepped out of cabs, all heading for the same place. The Marriage Bureau at One Centre Street. Colleen Gillespie and her partner Elisa spent five minutes wandering the building's maze of cavernous archways before finding the right entrance. They waited for over an hour hoping that once the door opened, the city would acknowledge their commitment.
TAPE: GILLESPIE: We really want our relationship to be recognized and celebrated, and we want to protect the future of our family by making sure that we have the rights and protections that come with marriage.
NARR: Gillespie is a research professor and has been in a committed relationship for 13 years. Tucked into a nylon soft carrier on her back is 13-month-old Ella, wearing a bright yellow rain slicker. Elisa periodcally wipes Ella's nose as it runs in the damp air. Gillespie is realistic about the situation.
TAPE: GILLESPIE: I'm sure we'll be turned away. After Eliot Spitzer's decision I think it's fairly clear that they will turn us away. But there's a tiny chance that we hold out for that they won't.
NARR: On Wednesday, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer delivered a 28-page legal opinion in which he said state law makes it clear that marriage does not apply to members of the same sex. Spitzer said while he personally supports gay marriage, the issue will have to be decided by the courts. Serkis is incredulous about the way opponents of gay marriage represent the issue.
TAPE: SERKIS: It's amazing to me that this is portrayed as some kind of , you know, scourge across the nation when all this is is like people who are in love, committed couples who want to get married and have the benefits that the government provides to any citizen and taxpayer who happens to be heterosexual and wants to marry someone of the opposite sex. What we're asking for, it's not radical, it's quite traditional.
NARR: Taking a page from tradition, John Wessel and Billy O'Connor arrived downtown in matching tuxedoes. They've been together for 25 years and would love to celebrate their silver anniversary with a marriage license. Wessel is optimistic about the future.
TAPE: WESSEL: I think that we may not succeed today but like a lot of civil rights movements and a lot of issues, I think that the flood of opinion and activities is pointing that way. It's changing on a daily basis and that's very exciting. I'm of the generation, I marched frequently in the 60s and 70s for civil rights for all of our people. And so I decided it was time to march for myself this time. But I think it's happening with a swiftness that none of us envisioned, including some of the leadership of our own community and the most particularly the politicians of the nation.
NARR: If New York does not cooperate, Wessel and O'Connor plan to go to Massachusetts for their license. Wessel would like to hear something from the mayor regardless of today's outcome.
TAPE: WESSEL: And His Honor, the mayor of New York, I think this is happening much more swiftly than he had anticipated and it's time he say something. So, my first choice today is to get a license. My second choice is to get Mayor Bloomberg to say something.
NARR: At 8:30 a.m., Wessel's first choice was taken off the table, at least for today. The City Clerk handed out applications for domestic partnership accompanied by a 50-page explanation of why gay marriage is illegal in New York. As for Wessel's second choice, what Mayor Bloomberg has said is that New York will recognize gay marriages performed in other states. Across the street from the Marriage Bureau, a few hundred people had gathered with umbrellas and signs of support held high.
TAPE: RALLY: [At the beginning of the prior sentence, bring up sound on "Join Our Fight, Marriage is a Right," chant. Hold, then lower and hold for following narration.]
NARR: The demonstrators protest peacefully within metal stantions set out by the police department. About 30 feet from the crowd, Marvin Knight holds a white sign with red letters. It says God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. Knight minces no words in his opposition to gay marriage.
TAPE: KNIGHT: I'm totally against it, the end of civilization. Not only that, all them Muslim countries who are attacking us, once they see America legalize marriages they'll be attacking us more. So actually they're putting my life in danger. The whole society is under attack and it's gonna get worse if this happens.
NARR: Knight was one of a handful of protesters who stood apart from the rally. In addition to his national security concerns, Knight questions the biology of gay relationships.
TAPE: KNIGHT: In the natural order of things, it don't fit. I mean, you don't see like two roosters hangin' out, two bulls hangin' out. So, I mean, it's an unnatural act.
NARR: Monique Hoeflinger took the day off work to attend the rally. Like many who addressed the issue, Hoeflinger respects the opinions of those who disagree with her. But she stands her ground.
TAPE: HOEFLINGER: If they object for religious reasons then I think they need to understand that we are not a theocracy, and that civil marriage is a separate institution from a religious one. Giving same sex couples the right to marry would not interfere with their religious views in any way.
NARR: Hoeflinger and her partner have been together for over four years. And while they are not ready to select a china pattern, Hoeflinger would like the option. She believes the country is at a turning point
TAPE: HOEFLINGER: I think this is a critical issue that all of us need to be engaged in. It's the civil rights movement of our day.
TAPE: RALLY: [At the beginning of the prior sentence, bring up sound on "2, 4, 6, 8, love does not discriminate" chant. Hold until end.
NARR: She may be right. Earlier this week the mayor of New Paltz in upstate New York was charged with 19 counts of performing marriages without a license. Today lawyers for the gay rights group LAMBDA are expected to be in a New York City court arguing for same-sex marriage. The debate over this issue is just beginning.
For Columbia Radio News, this is Josh Payne.