Despite the drizzle, approximately 50 people turned out for a Freedom to Marry Day celebration held at Bourbon Street last Saturday. Assemblymember Lori Saldaña updated the crowd on the progress of the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act (AB 19) moving through the state Assembly, and presented four same-sex couples that married in San Francisco last year with certificates commemorating their one-year anniversary.

“The first anniversary, you know, is a ‘paper’ anniversary, so we have paper certificates to give to you,” she said.

Saldaña, who co-sponsored AB 19 immediately after it was introduced in the Legislature Dec. 6, said the bill has passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee and is on its way to the Appropriations Committee, where it is expected to pass.

Co-authored by Assemblymember Mark Leno and House Speaker Fabian Nunez, AB 19, would change California’s definition of marriage to between “two persons.” The bill stalled in the Assembly Judiciary Committee last legislative session pending an analysis of its fiscal impact. Emphasizing the intention that marriage should conform to the separation of church and state, the bill was renamed the Religious Freedom and California Civil Marriage Protection Act, and has been amended to include a section specifically stating that clergy members are not required to participate in a marriage ceremony that is against their beliefs.

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata has also lent his support to the bill.

“It’s something that I’ve said many times during my campaign that I think equal marriage rights in California – the first state to do away with discriminating against interracial couples when it came to marriage – California should be the first state to do away with discriminating against same-sex couples when it comes to marriage,” Saldaña said.

She added that Gov. Schwarzenegger is calling for a special election in which a measure opposing same-sex marriage will most likely be on the ballot. “We will do what we can within the Assembly, and what we need you to do is do what you can within the community, and at broader levels around the state, because if we do face a special election, it will be expensive and require a lot of work on behalf of everyone.”

EQCA/MECA chapter leader Nadine Jernewall said that the same-sex marriages performed in San Francisco last year were important not just for the couples, but for the nation as well. “The reason for that is that you’ve put a face on the issue, you’ve been telling your stories and people are getting to know your story on a personal level, and that’s really important,” she told the crowd. “It’s made tremendous leaps in the way that people look at the issue.”

Jernewall cited a poll conducted in Michigan last fall showing that 61 percent of people who had a gay family member or friend were opposed to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, versus only 17 percent opposition from people who did not have a gay family member or friend.

If AB 19 passes, California would be the first state to legislatively legalize same-sex marriage, EQCA San Diego Events Coordinator Anthony White said. Jernewall added that a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage would also ban “marriage-like” arrangements such as domestic partnerships.

Local couple Michael and Fernando Lopez-Sager, who became active with Equality California’s Marriage Equality California project (EQCA/MECA) after they married last year in San Francisco, spoke about their experience of waiting in line for 10 and a half hours to get a marriage license at San Francisco City Hall, and about the importance of publicly supporting marriage equality.

“Going through that experience and realizing what we didn’t have and what we had to go through just to have something so simple…. I’ve been with my partner for three and a half years, who I love just as much as any opposite-sex partners, and I can’t legally be protected by my government, which I pay taxes to,” Fernando Lopez-Sager said. “I am a part of this country just like everyone else, I’m a human being just like everyone else and I deserve the same rights, just like everyone else.”

Postcards asking Gov. Schwarzenegger to support marriage equality were passed around for people to sign and mail, as well as cards asking Senator Dianne Feinstein to support the Permanent Partners Immigration Act, a federal bill that would allow U.S. citizens in binational same-sex relationships to sponsor their partner for immigration. Senator Barbara Boxer has already signed on in support of the bill, but Feinstein has ignored it thus far.

“She [Feinstein] says that she’s very pro-gay rights, but she has not signed on this bill,” White said. “In fact, she’s pretty adamant about not signing it.”

Bourbon Street provided the crowd with champagne for a toast, and a wedding cake was cut and served, donated by Fernando Viveros, pastry chef and owner of Crumbs of Paris.

Saturday’s event was one of over 100 going on all over the state that day as part of Equality California’s month-long “Get Engaged” campaign.

The San Francisco and Los Angeles EQCA chapters held gala events commemorating Freedom to Marry Day, the EQCA Modesto chapter held a dance and the Fresno chapter a dinner. On Sunday, rallies were held in Placerville and Redding, and the Bakersfield and Solano County chapters held dances on Valentine’s Day. In the two weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day, EQCA sponsored over 50 events in 15 counties as part of the campaign.