While much of the nation cheered the Supreme Court decision, two women were especially touched by the ruling giving same-sex marriage the constitutional OK.
Sandy Stier and Kris Perry, a Berkeley couple with four children, were in Washington, D.C., on Friday, just outside the Supreme Courthouse, where in a 5-4 decision, the justices knocked down the country’s remaining 14 state-level bans on gay marriage.
The two women, along Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo of Burbank, were the plaintiffs at the heart of the Prop. 8 challenge, which the Supreme Court overturned two years ago to the day. That decision cleared the way for same-sex couples to marry in California.
“I’m feeling exuberant, exhilarated and relieved that the battle is finally over,” Stier said.
The feeling reminded Perry of when they emerged from the same courthouse steps after their victory. “Those cheers carry you down the steps and into your new life,” she said. “People want to be recognized for who they love.”
The two, who have been a couple for more than 15 years, married in a hard-won and very public ceremony at San Francisco City Hall in 2013. Stier is the director of information systems for the Alameda County Health Care Services agency in Oakland. Perry directs the childhood education advocacy group, the First Five Years Fund in Washington, D.C., where the couple now share a second home.
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There is still much to work for though, the two said.
Stier ticked off adoption rights, foster care rights and workplace rights as three of the battles ahead for same-sex couples.
Still, Stier said, “this is a major step forward. Our government considers us equals.”
The Pew Research Center mapped the changing face of same-sex marriage laws in American states.
NBC Universal's Pamela Leahigh and Evan Carr contributed to this report.
