Maria Dinzeo reports from City Hall on some of the same-sex couples getting married today.
Every couple has a different tale, and same-sex couples are no exception. Some met and fell in love at school; some found love in a bar.
Sarah Good and Kristina Ramos met in Charlottesville, VA, where Good was a law student and Ramos as a graduate student in English. They have been together 20 years, waiting for the right to marry.
So how did they know they were right for one another? “How does anyone know?” said Ramos. Good point.
Michael Gerber said he met husband Tony Paredes “after the bars on Folsom Street closed on a seedy Saturday night.”
“Oh don’t say that!” laughed Paredes, a burly bearded gentleman whose grey suit jacket matched Gerber’s.
For both couples, this day has been a long time coming. Gerber and Paredes have been together 13 years and were first married in 2004, mostly as an act of civil disobedience. Now they are marrying for a second time, and they hope it will be the last. “I’ve been out for a long time, and I never thought in my wildest dreams that this could really be happening,” said Gerber, beaming. “It’s very affirming, and it makes you feel good to have your marriage recognized by society,” he said.
While Good and Ramos recently took a three-week vacation to Australia, “as our retroactive honeymoon,” Gerber and Paredes will head off to Glacier National Park in Montana for two weeks. “We both enjoy road trips and we’ve been to many national parks,” said Gerber. “We’re from the City so we like to get out of Dodge as much as we can.” But don’t expect them to be pitching tents. Said Gerber, “my idea of camping is a room and a shower.”