It’s national V-Gay Day!
Gay Brooklynites traveled to the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan on Wednesday and gathered with gay-rights activists to cheer the repeal by the Supreme Court of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, marking the first time that the federal government has recognized the marriage of two people of the same sex.
“This is our day,” said Crown Heights resident Sheila Donovan, who can now live in Brooklyn with her soon-to-be bride, a citizen of France — something that wouldn’t have been possible before today. “When something has the backing of law its harder for people opposed to gay rights to legitimize an argument.”
Donovan and her fiance, Bettina Atala, were two of many Brooklynites who visited the famous bar in the West Village where the gay-rights movement launched in 1969. The legendary bar’s owners opened at 10 am, right before the Supreme Court ruled 5–4 extending federal benefits to same-sex couples. The bar was packed when the ruling came down, and cheers and tears from those on hand quickly followed.
“We are free,” said Atala, who will wed Donovan in France in August. “It’s such a relief. We don’t feel like second-class citizens anymore.”
The ruling affects the finances of married gay Brooklynites, who’ll now be able to file joint tax returns come April 15 — a fact that hit home with many revelers.
“There are all these little things you take for granted, but they are actually important,” said Fort Greene resident Carl Winfield, who married his fiance shortly after it became legal to do so in New York two years ago. “It’ll be interesting to see how poor I am compared to him.”
Many same-sex couples who live in Brooklyn say the lack of marriage equality in other parts of the country make it hard for them to move elsewhere, and the court’s ruling, which strikes down a federal law that defined marriage as a union between one male and one female, makes them hopeful that same-sex marriage will soon be legal in every state in the union.
“It reminds us that we have a lot of work to do in other areas,” said Gowanus resident Megan Collum. “We still have not achieved full equality.”
Collum said she and her girlfriend have considered marriage, but they realized that if they did get married, they would lose all their marriage benefits if they ever left Gowanus to go back to their hometowns in Texas, one of the 37 states where same-sex marriage still is not legal.
Now, that’s not the case.
Some Brooklynites were so excited by the news, they left work and headed over the bridge to party.
“I cried at work today,” said Liz Harnage of Bedford-Stuyvesant, who got permission from her boss to leave her job at the Brooklyn Friends School Downtown. “This is why I moved to New York — so I can be who I am, and celebrate who I am.”
But not everyone was as excited about the ruling. Some thought that the energy put into the years-long push for same-sex marriage should have gone toward other fights, such as securing basic rights and protections, especially in light of the recent hate crimes, including the murder of a gay man in the West Village, and the rape of a woman in Greenpoint whose assailant blamed his actions on her sexual orientation.
“It was a huge diversion of resources,” said Max Stein, who lives in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. “Gay marriage is nice, but if I can’t walk down the street and feel safe, who cares if I can get married?”
The ruling means that gay couples will be able to take advantage of more than 1,000 tax, health, and retirement benefits.
And most gay-rights activists said they felt their time has come.
“It means public recognition for something that has felt like a private fight for some time,” Harnage said. “It feels amazing.”
Reach reporter Danielle Furfaro at dfurfaro@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2511. Follow her at twitter.com/DanielleFurfaro.
