Gay Couples Tie Knots in Symbolic Ceremony

As a Beethoven romance for violin and orchestra played over speakers and the sun shone warmly, couples--woman with woman, man with man--strolled down a white runner laid on the grass.

They tied lavender ribbons on a green trellis, passed under it, joined hands with others and took their vows.

“Tie your knots,” beckoned officiator Estella Thomas. “Tie them firmly. And tie them for the whole world to see.”

The ceremony at West Hollywood Park marked the second annual National Freedom to Marry Day. The day, designated by gay and lesbian groups and celebrated in 70 cities throughout the country, is intended to spur dialogue about same-gender marriage, advocates said.

“It’s an opportunity to share the truth about our lives,” said Sky Johnson, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center, the event’s sponsor. Same-sex marriage “is one of the last civil rights frontiers of gay and lesbian Americans. The more discussion there is, the more progress we can make.”

Organizers said the day has special importance in California, where the “defense of marriage” initiative is slated for the March 2000 ballot. Sponsored by state Sen. William “Pete” Knight (R-Palmdale), the initiative would mandate that the state recognize only heterosexual marriages as legal. That means couples wed in states where same-sex marriage may become legal would lose that status in California.

Participants in Friday’s ceremony, including West Hollywood Mayor Steve Martin and local clergy members, vowed to fight the measure. Joe Hicks, executive director of Los Angeles’ Human Relations Commission, told the gathering the City Council had passed a motion Wednesday opposing the initiative.

Knight has said he is trying to protect the traditional definition of marriage against efforts in other states to legalize same-sex unions. A decision is expected this year from the Vermont Supreme Court on whether to recognize gay marriages there.

Ellie Charlton, who participated in Friday’s ceremony, said she believes the Knight initiative is “full of hate.”

She and her partner, Jeanne Barnett, had their union blessed by 100 United Methodist pastors last month in a headline-making ceremony in Sacramento witnessed by 1,000 well-wishers.

With that public display, the couple wanted to send a message: “As gays and lesbians, we’re not asking for special rights. We want equal rights,” Charlton said.

Same-sex marriage supporters said that without legal recognition of their relationships, they are denied benefits that heterosexual couples enjoy, including shared health insurance, hospital visitation rights and property protections.

They also are denied something more basic, said the Rev. Frank Wulf, a minister with the United Methodist Church.

When his partner died at their home seven years ago, he had to report the death to the coroner’s office. Wulf described his relationship to the deceased to the person who took the call, and the employee replied, “Oh, that doesn’t count.”

“There are few things one can say more painful than that,” said Wulf, who had cared for his partner, an AIDS patient. “Since that time, I committed myself to make a change, not only in the church, but in the state.”