Rick Dean
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http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0406/07/b01-174863.htm
Gay couples say 'I do' in Ferndale
Mayor co-officiates at commitment ceremony for 11 couples; protesters are few at event
By Marisa Schultz / The Detroit News
FERNDALE --Eleven gay and lesbian couples, many in tears, pronounced words to each other Saturday that some said they had waited a long time to say: " do.
In a large commitment ceremony at the foot of City Hall, the couples exchanged vows, rings and kisses, all with the approval of Mayor Robert Porter. The mayor helped officiate at the c
remony that he says showed rights cannot be granted to some and not to others.
State law prevents the ceremony from being binding as a legal marriage.
As the debate over gay marriage heats
up across the country and in Michigan, Porter fe
ared some protests when he announced he would co-officiate the ceremony one day before the Motor City Pride event today in Ferndale.
But the ceremony, which stopped short of being called a wedding, went largely unnoticed aside from media and the family and friends of the couples.
Police were on hand, but only three protesters showed up. And many sellers and buyers at the citywide garage sale also outside City Hall didn't realize that a moment of history was taking place yards away.
But for the couples, the ceremony was a way to not only share their love, but also to take a political stance on equal rights for gays and lesbians.
We want the community as a whole and our heterosexual brothers and sisters to see our faces and know
that we want the same things as them in life, said the Rev. Mark Bidwell, who also officiated the ceremony. We want to buy a home, live peacefully and have children. We want to be loved and b
e ha
ppy.
Commitment ceremonies are not uncomm
on for same-sex couples, but Saturday's ceremony was particularly important because of the mayor's role and the campaign in Michigan to amend the constitution to ban gay marriage, said Bidwell of the Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit in Ferndale.
For Chakelea Truitt, a lesbian who did not have the support of her family, the public ceremony didn't bother her or her partner.
" think the whole world should know, said Truitt, 24, of Detroit after uniting with four-year partner LaDonna Truitt, who changed her name. The couple had debated getting married in Canada, but were thrilled they could exchange vows nearby.
Melvin Rodgers-Berta, 41, watches people exchange vows frequently as a wedding photographer and caterer. Wanting to have a wed
ding of his own, he united with his longtime partner, Leroy Berta, 46, a year ago in Las Vegas.
This is better than Las Vegas, said Rodgers-Berta of Detroit, minutes after
he share
d his vo
ws. We went all the way to Vegas to
get married. Now this feels at home.
http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0406/07/b01-174863.htm
Gay couples say 'I do' in Ferndale
Mayor co-officiates at commitment ceremony for 11 couples; protesters are few at event
By Marisa Schultz / The Detroit News
FERNDALE --Eleven gay and lesbian couples, many in tears, pronounced words to each other Saturday that some said they had waited a long time to say: " do.
In a large commitment ceremony at the foot of City Hall, the couples exchanged vows, rings and kisses, all with the approval of Mayor Robert Porter. The mayor helped officiate at the c
remony that he says showed rights cannot be granted to some and not to others.
State law prevents the ceremony from being binding as a legal marriage.
As the debate over gay marriage heats
up across the country and in Michigan, Porter fe
ared some protests when he announced he would co-officiate the ceremony one day before the Motor City Pride event today in Ferndale.
But the ceremony, which stopped short of being called a wedding, went largely unnoticed aside from media and the family and friends of the couples.
Police were on hand, but only three protesters showed up. And many sellers and buyers at the citywide garage sale also outside City Hall didn't realize that a moment of history was taking place yards away.
But for the couples, the ceremony was a way to not only share their love, but also to take a political stance on equal rights for gays and lesbians.
We want the community as a whole and our heterosexual brothers and sisters to see our faces and know
that we want the same things as them in life, said the Rev. Mark Bidwell, who also officiated the ceremony. We want to buy a home, live peacefully and have children. We want to be loved and b
e ha
ppy.
Commitment ceremonies are not uncomm
on for same-sex couples, but Saturday's ceremony was particularly important because of the mayor's role and the campaign in Michigan to amend the constitution to ban gay marriage, said Bidwell of the Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit in Ferndale.
For Chakelea Truitt, a lesbian who did not have the support of her family, the public ceremony didn't bother her or her partner.
" think the whole world should know, said Truitt, 24, of Detroit after uniting with four-year partner LaDonna Truitt, who changed her name. The couple had debated getting married in Canada, but were thrilled they could exchange vows nearby.
Melvin Rodgers-Berta, 41, watches people exchange vows frequently as a wedding photographer and caterer. Wanting to have a wed
ding of his own, he united with his longtime partner, Leroy Berta, 46, a year ago in Las Vegas.
This is better than Las Vegas, said Rodgers-Berta of Detroit, minutes after
he share
d his vo
ws. We went all the way to Vegas to
get married. Now this feels at home.
:angry: