Hitched!: Wedding Stories from San Francisco City Hall [Paperback]

Cheryl Dumesnil (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 21, 2005

On Thursday, February 12, 2004, Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, a lesbian couple who have been together for fifty-one years, became the first same-sex couple married at San Francisco City Hall. By March 11, when the California State Supreme Court ordered a halt to the weddings, 4.037 gay and lesbian couples had tied the knot. These couples had traveled to San Francisco by bus and plane. They had called in sick to work and packed their kids and camping gear into the backs of their cars, and headed to City Hall. They had stood in line through high wind and torrential rain, all for a chance to have their relationships legally recognized. Each couple has a unique story to tell. While the media have focused on political aspects of the ongoing marriage debate, interviewing pundits and average citizens on both sides of the issue, by and large the lives of the newlyweds—their rich, diverse, and vibrant personal histories—have remained invisible. Hitched! Wedding Stories from San Francisco City Hall introduces readers to the determined, brave, and loving couples who took center stage during the historical events at City Hall.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

On February 12, 2004, the grand divas of lesbian coupledom (51 years together), Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, became the first same-sex duo to marry at San Francisco City Hall. Before the California Supreme Court stopped such proceedings a month later, daily waiting-to-wed lines had sometimes numbered 1,000, and more than 4,000 gay and lesbian couples had gotten "hitched." Dumesnil, pregnant at the time, married Tracie and volunteered assistance in guiding couples through the paperwork. She has since assembled this collection of more than 30 accounts from a range of those involved, including state assemblyman Mark Leno, who, with Mabel Teng, became a "marrying machine" by performing the rites under the Marriage License Non-Discrimination Act; Baltimore Gonzalez, who with husband Robert held a blowout reception for 40; and begowned Moonyean, who, after 15 years, married tuxedoed, butch, wheelchair-bound Lakke, whose black Lab service dog--complete with red bow tie--was her "best man." Think of this book as a Quilt with a different cause. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Moving, big-hearted affirmations of everyone's right to marriage." -- Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2005

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (September 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560257644
• ISBN-13: 978-1560257646
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,052,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful look into the lives of committed same-sex couples, September 25, 2005

By 

Heidi K. LaMoreaux "Assoc. Professor of Liber... (Santa Rosa, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hitched!: Wedding Stories from San Francisco City Hall (Paperback)

Cheryl Dumesnil has done a magnificent job of collecting stories from couples that were legally married at City Hall in San Francisco during the "Winter of Love" in Feb-March 2004. The book covers stories of people ranging from those who were not married but participated (one has young as 18 years) to couples married for over half of a century. There are mixed-racial couples, couples coping with disabilities, young activists, a man who lost his partner to death but still helped all of those at City Hall to marry, couples nearly married who were heartbreakingly turned away on the steps of City Hall, couples together a few years, and couples together for over 50 years. Some couples jumped at the chance to marry -- others struggled with timing, and with the decision if official marriage would really cement an already strong relationship. The introduction by Rosie O'Donnell taught me that straight couples aren't forced to testify against each other in court, but gay couples are. I was continually reminded of all of the rights that are currently not afforded to committed, tax paying, loving couples of the same gender, and their children, in this country of "freedom." I laughed, I cried, I ached for the people in the book -- and for myself -- to be given chances for true equality. This book truly captured the feelings of those at City Hall (I know, I was there). The outpouring of love and volunteerism from straight and gay alike is something I, and others involved, will never forget. If you want to know more about the lives of some of the people involved in the "Winter of Love", this is a must-read.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whoever you are, you can't read this book without being moved by the power of love, October 7, 2005

By 

L. Headley (Pacific Grove, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hitched!: Wedding Stories from San Francisco City Hall (Paperback)

What a gorgeous book. I just finished reading it and had to write this review. Imagine there were a special celebration of heterosexual marriage somewhere in the U.S. Imagine that straight couples who went there for the celebration would have to wait in line for hours in the rain and face heckling, hateful protesters, and even then might not get the special recognition of their marriage, their lives together in love, that they had been waiting for. Imagine how much in love any couples who would undergo that trial would have to be. Now you have a sense for the kind of love you can read about in Dumesnil's book. This is such an exciting time of change in America. I hope we look back, years from now, in an age of Marriage Equality and feel pride and gratitude for the couples in this book for paving the way in this important civil rights movement. Truly a powerful read--I was moved to tears by almost every story.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book has the power to change minds., November 9, 2005

By 

J. French (Walnut Creek, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hitched!: Wedding Stories from San Francisco City Hall (Paperback)

And it is also the best non-fiction book I have read in years! The stories are inspiring, humbling, and life-changing. The couples' struggles and desire to be married touched every part of my heart. I only hope that this book has as wide a readership as it deserves.