Happy Birthday to me!  And for my birthday, the great state of California has given me the right to marry!!

For those who aren’t in the know (which is saying a lot since that’s usually me) California ruled to overturn the state’s ban on same-sex marriage making California the second state, after Massachusetts, to allow full marriage rights to same-sex couples.  What’s more, California has no “residence requirement” which means any same-sex couple, including those from out of state, can marry in California. Of course, once that couple returns to their native state (unless it’s Massachusetts) their marriage won’t be recognized… but give it time.

Now the ruling won’t actually go into effect until June 16 at 5:00 pm, but couples are already registering and preparing for weddings to begin that evening.

Of course, there are plenty of groups in opposition to this ruling and I guarantee we haven’t heard the last of this, but I’m optimistic that the tide is turning and we’re seeing only the beginning of change for marriage in America.  As I heard Rachel Maddow of Air America Radio quote when talking about gay marriage in Massachusetts: “Nothing happened to straight people.  Straight people’s lives didn’t change… Divorce didn’t go up or down, kids were still kids, adults were still adults… it was all fine and it kinda’ took the wind out of the arguments against (gay marriage).”