Gay marriage: Dancing, singing at West Hollywood rally after rulings

Jubilant gay marriage supporters turned out in West Hollywood on Wednesday evening for a lively celebration of the Supreme Court’s rulings on DOMA and Proposition 8.

At the rally at the corner of Santa Monica and San Vicente boulevards, people danced and waved rainbow flags. Some held signs that said, “Ding Dong, Prop 8 is dead!” and “DOMA=DEAD.” Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” and Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” blared over the gathering crowd.

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Rick Watts carried his handmade sign with a checklist: “My Gay Agenda.” There were checkmarks in boxes next to the words “do laundry, church, go to gym, pay bills, tell my family that I love them, serve my country and community, secure my equal rights.”

There was no checkmark next to “clean my apartment,” which Watts laughed about. He hadn’t done that yet. There also wasn’t a checkmark next to “find a good husband.” Watts said he’s “still hopeful” he’ll find one.

“See, the gay agenda’s not so scary,” said Watts, a West Hollywood resident and member of the city’s disabilities advisory board.

Kacee Wheeler, 23, drove with her two best friends, Luis Escamilla, 23, and Ashley Kobe Gomez, 23, -- all three of them are gay or lesbian --from Pico Rivera to attend the rally. Wheeler wore a shirt that said “Gay OK” and clutched a sign reading “I Do Support the Freedom to Marry.”

The three friends woke up early Wednesday to text messages from friends about the Supreme Court decision.

“I woke up to a lot of happiness this morning,” said Wheeler, a student at Los Angeles Recording School.

The group planned to celebrate in West Hollywood, she said. “We will be out all night,” she said, laughing.

Steven Andrews and Jim Noll, self-described “middle-aged” residents of West Hollywood, said they wouldn’t have missed the rally for anything. They’ve been married since 2008 but have been a couple for 34 years.

“We’ve been on this journey all these years, and this is the happy culmination of it,” Andrews said.

“I’m extremely happy,” Noll said. “Especially for our friends who wanted to get married in 2008 but ran out of time because they planned their weddings for later.”

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