Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon made history - again - at 5:07 p.m. Monday when they were declared "spouses for life."
At that moment, standing next to each other in the mayor's office in San Francisco City Hall in front of cheering friends and relatives, the couple of 55 years became the first same-sex newlyweds in San Francisco and among the first in California under a new right bestowed by the state Supreme Court.
"And it feels great," said Lyon, 83.
It was a little more than four years ago that Lyon and Martin were the first to wed after Mayor Gavin Newsom sanctioned same-sex weddings. About 4,000 gay and lesbian couples took the plunge, but the California Supreme Court later ruled those weddings legally invalid because Newsom acted without proper authority.
This time around, Martin and Lyon were once again San Francisco's first same-sex couple to get married - only this time, it was legal.
"I never thought it would happen in our lifetime," said Arlene Rusche, 68, a friend of the couple.
A punctual start
The invitation-only ceremony began at 5:01 p.m., the precise time the Supreme Court ruling took effect.
Escorted by their longtime neighbors, Lyon and Martin, who at 87 now uses a wheelchair, entered the mayor's office from a side door and made their way through the crowd to the front of the packed - and hot - room. There, Newsom, who presided over the wedding, started off with the traditional, "We are gathered here today."
It didn't take long until he drew the first big laugh from the 50 or so in the room when he continued, "The contract of marriage is most solemn, and it is not to be entered into lightly - but thoughtfully."
Martin and Lyon have been at the forefront of the gay-rights movement since they moved in together in 1953. They've fought for equality for gays and lesbians in the workplace, housing, the medical establishment, the feminist movement and, most recently, the institution of marriage.
Martin wore a purple pantsuit and stood up from her wheelchair to face Lyon, dressed in a blue pantsuit. During the six-minute ceremony, the two held hands as they recited their vows to love and honor each other, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. Their eyes welled with tears.
Lyon was the first to say "I do," her voice resonating in the room. Martin's "I do," which came next, was more muted, audible only to those close by. They exchanged rings - the ones they've worn before - hugged, and then kissed each other lightly.
The room erupted in cheers - and tears.
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