Marriage equality issue unites student group

HAYWARD — In an effort to promote "marriage equality," some students at California State University, East Bay, staged mock gay and lesbian weddings on campus Thursday.

The students, members of the university's Queer-Straight Alliance, said they organized the event to raise awareness of the hot-button California Marriage Protection Act on the November ballot, which would amend the state's consitution to ban same-sex marriage.

"When you think about it, separate-but-equal is a false idea," said Heather Thompson, QSA president. "We want to continue to keep fire under the people's feet over this issue."

Five couples participated in the mock weddings held on the Agora Stage just outside the student union. Organizers featured three different ceremonies — a Jewish ceremony, a traditional Christian ceremony and a Pagan handfasting (in which the couples' hands are bound together with a ribbon) — to tie in the campus celebration of Multicultural Week.

"We want to show that homosexuals are normal people," said Casey Bell-Blasdale, a student organizer with QSA. "We can be happy and in love in marriage just as much as a heterosexual couple. It shouldn't be a big deal."

QSA members also invited lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organizations to campus as part of a resource fair to provide information to students.

Stuart Gaffney and his partner of 21 years, John Lewis, were on hand at the resource fair to represent

Marriage Equality USA. The San Francisco couple wed four years ago at San Francisco City Hall and revisited their vows during Thursday's program. (The City Hall ceremonies were declared void in August 2004 by the state Supreme Court, which ruled that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom lacked legal authority to allow the marriages.)

"We're living in a really historic time that's also exciting and romantic," Gaffney said. "The message we wanted to send is that love is possible anywhere and with anyone."