Shannon Minter
argued in California's supreme court for my right
to marry. I won't rest until he's protected in a
trans-inclusive ENDA
My partner,
Julie, and I were part of the overflow crowd watching the
oral arguments of the California supreme court's same-sex
marriage case at the San Francisco Main Library
auditorium back in March. It was broadcast on
California’s government public access channel, and
let me tell you, it was like being at a sports bar for
the Super Bowl -- people were cheering and hissing for
two solid hours.
The superstar of
the day, the man whose forceful eloquence and grace
under pressure gave us all such a feeling of confidence that
the court would indeed see the light on this issue,
was National Center for Lesbian Rights
lead attorney Shannon Minter.
Along with Chief
Deputy City Attorney Therese Stewart and the many others
who prepared the case and spoke to the justices that day,
Shannon Minter helped earn all of us same-sex couples
the right to marriage equality here in the state of
California. (Like all good technorati queers, I blogged about it.)
On the afternoon
the landmark May 15 ruling was announced, Julie and I
brought our two daughters to the San Francisco LGBT
Community Center to celebrate the victory with our
community. Ask anyone who was there and they’ll
tell you the thrill that went across the room as center
executive director Rebecca Rolfe spoke the simple
words “Welcome to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
and Transgender Community Center” with the mindful,
measured tone that allowed us all to feel the reality of a
genuinely united LGBT movement. I’m talking
especially about the "T" here.
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Jenni Olson is director of e-commerce at
WolfeVideo.com. She lives in San Francisco with her
partner, Julie Dorf, and their two
daughters.