Let’s take a moment to savor it.

Take away the conservative declarations, the lobbyist reactions, the political candidates’ spineless wavering – and take it for what it is, at least for a second.

For the first time in the United States this year, and as early as May, gays and lesbians will be able to legally marry. It’s not about a special marriage law for gays and lesbians. Importantly, it’s about gay and lesbian unions being included and recognized in the exact same marriage law that recognizes heterosexual unions — going to the courthouse and obtaining the very same marriage licenses that heterosexual couples obtain, participating in one of our civilization’s oldest social institutions, and enjoying all of the weight and pressure that this institution brings.

For the first time in the United States, a state high court has turned away from minced words and mixed signals and said it: Denying gays and lesbians a regular marriage license is to “discriminate against a defined class” of people. OK, so wording of the Massachusetts opinion wasn’t as “blunt,” as widely reported. But the effect is clear, and we’ll say it bluntly: Gays and lesbians can marry, starting as soon as May 17, in Massachusetts!

Phones are ringing all over Provincetown — the Cape Cod community that hopes to become a Gay Niagara Falls — as gays and lesbians nationwide make plans to marry.

Of course every victory on the road to civil rights is clouded by reaction and over-reaction. And of course it’s sobering that – even while a state high court bestows this civil right – the White House calls the ruling “deeply troubling”; that the Massachusetts House Speaker calls for a delay in the implementation of the ruling; and that the Governor of Massachusetts cautions, “We’ve heard from the court, but not from the people.”

In a sense, Gov. Mitt Romney is correct. Polls show that residents of Massachusetts are fairly evenly divided on the question of marriage for gays and lesbians. High courts are called upon to interpret the law, not to interpret public opinion – and politicians sometimes disregard this fundamental check-and-balance aspect of our democracy when it’s convenient to call upon the will of “the people”.

With this victory comes a renewed effort to amend the constitution to ban gays and lesbians from civil marriage. But that is simply not going to happen before May. A constitutional amendment will take a minimum of two years to go into effect.

So, for the next two years, it’s more important than ever to be visible – not just as a gay or lesbian couple but as a gay or lesbian person – in your community, your church, your kids’ schools. This is not just a sermon, this is serious: The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force says it is operating on the assumption that this issue will be brought before voters in 2006.

In the meantime, by all means call Provincetown. But remember: Marriage for gays and lesbians means more than booking the wedding planner and calling Ptown Parties. Marriage for gays and lesbians is about having our unions recognized in a fundamental legal and cultural construct.

Let’s show the world that marriage for gays and lesbians isn’t a sex issue, as so many still imagine it to be. It’s about love. It’s about families. It’s about remembering the Valentine’s chocolates, putting up with the in-laws, taking turns doing the dishes and getting the kids off to school on time – just like your neighbor’s marriage.

Read more on this issue in the national news section and throughout this week’s paper. And in the meantime, Happy Valentine’s Day.