In Illinois, tomorrow, June 1st will mark the enactment of S.B. 1716, the Illinois Religious Freedom protection and Civil Union Act ("Civil Union Act").
Our governor, Pat Quinn signed the legislation into law in December and it goes into effect on the beginning of Pride month in the US.
Tomorrow, I and my soon to be husband, June, will, hopefully, be one of the first people to be in line to get our license to have our relationship officially recognized with all the rights and responsibilities as those afforded opposite gender couples in our state.
June is my soul mate. She is, to use the wording from "Different for Girls", the lost sock. She is the other part of me. The part of me that was missing. We are in love. When I started my transition, I *knew* it was the right thing to do. I felt a meshing of gears in my head. I felt that my mind and body were finally together. So too, do I know that June and I are mated. We are meshed gears. Often finishing each others sentences. All of the things that I've heard that life loves are supposed to be.
We could, as many other have been required to, simply continue to live together in a common law arrangement, without benefit of official recognition of the life we share together. But we will not. There are other reasons for having our relationship solemnized.
First and foremost is the recognition that the two of us are in love and wish to have a life together as a married couple. We are in love, and for me to be her lawfully wedded wife is a thrill and a fulfillment of a life long dream.
Also what is available to us, and just as important, is that just like opposite sex couples, we will have hospital visitation rights, the ability to speak for our spouse if they cannot, funerary rights and survivor benefits, and the ability to file joint state income tax returns. And in those states that recognize civil union/same sex marriage, our union will be recognized there as well. And WHEN the federal gummint repeals DOMA (hopefully in our lifetime) we will be able to file joint federal income tax as well.
From what I have been able to gather, the expected turnout is going to be big. I don't know how many are actually going to be there for their license and how many will be there for the celebration of the fulfillment of an agonizingly long process in civil rights. The Cook County Clerks office is planning to have gifts and raffles for those first in line. Naturally, the media will be there as well. And I expect that our friends from the (small "c") christian Taliban, otherwise known as the Westboro Baptist church (if you can call it that) will make their presence known.
I'm writing this late at night because I am too very wired to sleep. I'll post my experience of the next few days at a later point. June and I are not taking an official honeymoon, but will be getting away for a few days.
We plan to have a retired judge solemnize our union. We are scheduled to have him perform the ceremony on Thursday, June 2nd. According to Illinois law we have to wait 24 hours after getting our licence to have the union solemnized.
I have a wedding gown all set for the occasion. My daughters will be my bridesmaids, and my son in law will be June's best man. And my brother has agreed to give away the blushing bride to be.
And as with opposite sex couple marriages, this union will also serve as a legal name change document. And since I have been through this process once before, I intend to change my name to that of my groom.
I post this and my further experiences in my life as a testimonial to others. To show that you can attain your life's desire if you but try.
-Sandy
