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Redlands event honors same-sex unions

Same-sex marriage may not be legal in California for now -- but some of the couples who were married last year stood up on Wednesday to demonstrate the power of their unions.

The ceremony at the United Church of Christ in Redlands marked the one-year anniversary of the day that the first same-sex marriages were conducted.

"Love is stronger than hate," said the Rev. John Walsh, chaplain at the University of Redlands, who conducted the 30-minute service that included music, scripture and Catholic and Jewish prayers.

Eleven couples stood to have their unions blessed by four clergymen participating in the ceremony. One couple held a toddler wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt. Another couple wore matching Hawaiian shirts. After the blessing about 100 people in attendance stood and applauded.

The couples are among the 18,000 same-sex couples who were married last year before the passage of Proposition 8. That vote was upheld last month by the California Supreme Court, but the same-sex marriages conducted before the vote were ruled valid.

Walsh said the couples represented a "foot in the door" for restoring same-sex marriage rights. "Is there anyone who doesn't think that day is coming?" he asked.

The Redlands event, sponsored by California Faith for Equality and local churches and faith-based leaders in the Inland Empire, was one of several across California.

See PE.com's story previewing the event here: http://www.pe.com/localnews/sbcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_S_marriage17.4bada19.html