SF Party Overlaps with Trans March
Joy erupted on the streets of the Castro district and, earlier, outside San Francisco City Hall June 26 as people celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court's decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.
The 5-4 decision by Justice Anthony Kennedy effectively throws out marriage bans that had remained in 13 states.
Day of Decision parties took place throughout the country, including the Castro, where thousands of people partied in the streets. The celebration overlapped with the annual Trans March.
The crowd at the Trans March gathered near United Nations Plaza last Friday.
Earlier that morning, elected officials and community leaders held a rally outside City Hall. A giant rainbow flag draped the front of the building as San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee addressed the crowd.
"We are always leading the world in fighting for tolerance and diversity," Lee said.
The mayor looked back upon the previous decade - it was in 2004 that former Mayor Gavin Newsom defied state law when he ordered city officials to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Lesbian couple Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon was the first to tie the knot. (Martin died in August 2008, shortly after she and Lyon were married again during the brief period before the passage of Proposition 8, the state's marriage ban that was thrown out by the Supreme Court in 2013.)
"We started this movement right here in San Francisco and kept the momentum going. The United States of America joins Ireland and 18 other countries in moving the world in the right direction," Lee said, referring to the referendum election in Ireland in May that legalized same-sex marriage there.
Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which represented couples from Tennessee in the marriage case, known as Obergefell v. Hodges, hailed the decision.
"Look what you did!" Kendell exclaimed. "America walks the walk. Millions of families are now more secure, every LGBT person can breathe deeply and walk a little taller."
Gay state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), who twice tried to get marriage equality bills passed in the Legislature only to have them vetoed by then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, also spoke.
"Today San Francisco values became America's values," Leno said.
Castro Celebration
The Castro celebration featured music, dancing, speeches, and lots of cheering. Speakers included longtime activist Cleve Jones and Dustin Lance Black, the Oscar winning screenwriter of the 2008 film Milk .
"I'm so grateful to be alive to see this amazing day," said Jones, a longtime HIV survivor. Jones pointed out that the major national LGBT organizations initially opposed the lawsuits and actions that brought about the marriage ruling, such as the 2009 California case that led to Prop 8's demise.
"Thankfully, we ignored them," Jones said, as the crowd applauded. "Harvey Milk taught us to be bold, to come out, to take risks. He understood that only when we pushed, only when enough of us said we want everything and we want it now, did we have any chance of getting anything at all."
Black recalled those who died of AIDS and other illnesses who did not live to see the day.
"I want to hear a roar for the Harvey Milks and the Del Martins who couldn't be here," he said.
Those in attendance were happy the celebration coincided with Pride weekend festivities.
"If felt wonderful to be able to celebrate such good news, especially on Pride weekend," said Castro resident Patrick Henry, 54. "As someone who spent their 20s and 30s taking to the Castro to fight AIDSphobia and for equality against extremely formidable political enemies it felt almost miraculous to take to those same streets to celebrate joy and unity."
Not everyone in the community was happy with the event's timing as the annual Trans March coincided with the street party. Both events began at 6 p.m., although the Trans March held events earlier in the afternoon prior to the actual march. Some in the transgender community felt that it was disrespectful for the Day of Decision party to overshadow the march, which had been scheduled months earlier. Others were more understanding.
"I understand that the decision date isn't in the hands of the people but to host an event at the same time as the march is to display thoughtlessness for the 'T' in LGBT," said Amie Fei Xochi, 24, a transgender woman. Xochi was pleased with the court's decision.
"When is it our turn to turn your focus to help us not be murdered, or to end the homelessness of LGBT youth?" she asked. "Us trans women of color have a one in eight chance of being murdered ... . Marriage is not on our minds."
Teagan Widmer, a trans woman, said she was happy about the court decision, and has participated in the Trans March for a number of years.
"It is correct to say they couldn't choose the day the court decision came down," Widmer. "But they did have the ability to control what time the event started. They could have chosen to pick a time that would allow trans people to be there instead of forcing trans people to choose between the biggest and only trans-focused event of the Pride season and this big celebration."
Widmer feels that the 'T' is often forgotten in the LGBT acronym.
"Trans people are trying to not get killed," she said. "We are trying to keep our jobs."
Veronika Fimbres, a transgender community leader and member of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee board, felt that this year's Trans March was still a success. She pointed out that Supreme Court decisions were traditionally celebrated in the Castro.
"It took nothing away from the power and impact of the Trans March," Fimbres said. "It was bigger and more viable than ever - of course this is my personal opinion."