USA: Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, plaintiffs who challenged California's ban on gay marriage, wed in Los Angeles

Record ID: 277907

  • Title: USA: Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, plaintiffs who challenged California's ban on gay marriage, wed in Los Angeles
  • Date: 29th June 2013
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 28, 2013) (REUTERS) ***CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** WIDE OF PRESS ROOM WITH MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA, PAUL KATAMI AND JEFF ZARRILLO MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA MARRYING PAUL KATAMI AND JEFF ZARRILLO WIDE OF PAUL KATAMI PLACING RING ON JEFF ZARRILLO'S FINGER, THEN ZARRILLO PLACING RING ON KATAMI'S FINGER WITH VILLARAIGOSA PRONO
  • Embargoed: 14th July 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Politics,People
  • Reuters ID: LVABOKS5WALADB5Y6KAETXIZTNPR
  • Story Text: Two of the plaintiffs who challenged California's ban on gay marriage wed on Friday (June 28) in Los Angeles.
    Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo of Burbank, California, were among the plaintiffs in the case Hollingsworth v. Perry that went before the U.S. Supreme Court this year.
    "It's been a four-and-a-half year battle against Proposition 8," said Zarrillo. "It's been a 12-year relationship and this was always the natural next step for us and as I said the other day, our desire to marry has just grown so much over the last four years, being a part of this case and our love and devotion to one another just keeps growing and I would expect it to continue to grow until we're no longer on this earth together."
    The couple wore suits with boutonnieres and wed at Los Angeles City Hall. The ceremony was conducted by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
    "It's funny because everyone says, 'You deserve to be as miserable as everyone else, right?'" joked Katami after they were married.
    The Supreme Court earlier this week sent the case back to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which lifted a stay on its order striking down the California gay marriage ban.
    The California marriages capped a historic week for gay rights in the United States. On Wednesday (June 26), the Supreme Court issued two key rulings - one that extended federal benefits to married gay couples and another that allowed a federal court's order striking down the California marriage ban to stand.
    "So many others like us did not stand for being treated as second class citizens," said Zarrillo. "And I hope we did a little bit to change the path towards equality."
    California briefly allowed gay marriages in 2008, before the ballot initiative was enacted. It now becomes the 13th state, and the largest, to allow same-sex marriage - just in time, advocates point out, for Gay Pride weekend.
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