(August 18, 2010, San Diego, News Release) San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (SAME) announces plans to rally at the County Clerk’s Office on Thursday (today), the day hundreds of gays and lesbians had planned to line up for a long-awaited marriage license. SAME will start the day by joining the couple who were becoming known as “San Diego’s First Couple to be Married Under Federal Equality”, Tony and Tyler Dylan-Hyde, as they head to the clerks office at 8AM for their appointment. Tony and Tyler, who have been together for 15 years, and Michael Anderson and Brian Baumgardner, together for 9 years, will encourage the county clerk to follow through on the ruling earlier this week that upended Proposition 8, and provide them equal treatment and a marriage license.

Tyler Dylan-Hyde expressed it this way, “We believe that county officials and the Attorney General have the authority and obligation to allow marriage licenses to proceed based on both the Federal Court’s findings that Prop 8 is unconstitutional - and the Governor’s and Attorney General’s filings in the Prop 8 cases. We intend to exercise our fundamental right to marriage on Thursday.”

“‘Just wait’. Gays and lesbians have been asked to ‘Just wait a little longer’ on every front,” said Michael Anderson, “We are making it known that our patience has worn out with that strategy. When the federal courts unequivocally say that prop 8 is unconstitutional, it makes it hard to understand why I have to wait.”

At their planning meeting in Park West Tuesday night, members of SAME outlined the goal of obtaining marriage licenses, discussed strategy including building lists of administrators from the Governor to the County Board of Supervisors who will be getting a call, and finalized details for the rally outside the County Administration Building starting at 8AM.

In April of 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled that equal marriage rights were due to all, including same-sex couples. Then in November of the same year California’s Proposition 8 was passed by a slim majority, eliminating those equal rights. On August 4th 2010, Federal Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that the equal protection and due process clauses of the 14th amendment disallow the discrimination that Proposition 8 introduced.

“People tell us to wait and calm down but these are real issues,” said Anderson. “The ultimate goal would be to receive marriage licenses right then and there and I think it’s perfectly plausible to obtain a marriage license tomorrow [today].”

“When I first heard about the stay ruling, I was shocked. Then extreme anger, depression and then a resolve to keep fighting. We had planned on this rally just in case they tell us to wait again. Martin Luther King came to my mind at that point, ‘Wait, means never.’

SAME is an open, democratically-run organization committed to fighting for GLBT rights, including the right to marry. More information is available at www.samealliance.com