Choice

Today is the last day that marriage will  be denied to gay and lesbian couples in Washington State. Or, as the WA United for Marriage campaign posted on Facebook today, "the power of marriage equality will be unleashed". I find it very exciting and heartwarming that the King County license bureau is opening at midnight tonight to begin issuing marriage licenses at the first possible moment, and that over 100 couples will be married at Seattle City Hall on Sunday following the mandatory 3-day waiting period.

Ultimately what I find most exciting is that my partner and I now have the choice to get married. We are being offered equal treatment under the law, and that is much more than a dry, intellectual legal change. It means that after 27 years together we can choose to get married rather than languishing in the limbo of something called "domestic partnership". It means our eight-year-old daughter gets to glory in being a flower girl at our wedding, and she gets to witness us being recognized as equal, valid and valuable by our community.

That being said, we won't be in line at midnight tonight or saying "I do" on Sunday. We are savoring this victory and the power of equality. Choice means we get to do this in our own unique way, when the time is right for us.  Now that's powerful!