05/19/2008
Star Trek's George Takei to Marry Partner Brad Altman
In an announcement Friday on his website, actor George Takei announced that he'll be taking advantage of the new California same-sex marriage law and wedding his partner and business manager Brad Altman.
Takei and Altman have been together for over 21 years. In his message, which discusses their relationship as well as his experience as a Japanese American: Takei says:
"As a Japanese American, I am keenly mindful of the subtle and not so subtle discrimination that the law can impose. During World War II, I grew up imprisoned behind the barbed wire fences of U.S. internment camps. Pearl Harbor had been bombed and Japanese Americans were rounded up and incarcerated simply because we happened to look like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor. Fear and war hysteria swept the nation. A Presidential Executive Order directed the internment of Japanese Americans as a matter of national security. Now, with the passage of time, we look back and see it as a shameful chapter of American history...With time, I know the opposition to same sex marriage, too, will be seen as an antique and discreditable part of our history..."
Takei is the second high-profile entertainer to make such an announcement, following Ellen Degeneres' last Friday.
(image tom atwood)
Read Takei's full message, AFTER THE JUMP...
***MARRIAGE ANNOUNCEMENT from GEORGE TAKEI ***
Our California dream is reality. Brad Altman and I can now marry. We are overjoyed! At long last, the barrier to full marriage rights for same-sex couples has been torn down. We are equal with all citizens of our state!
The California Supreme Court has ruled that all Californians have a fundamental right to marry the person he or she loves. Brad and I have shared our lives together for over 21 years. We've worked in partnership; he manages the business side of my career and I do the performing. We've traveled the world together from Europe to Asia to Australia. We've shared the good times as well as struggled through the bad. He helped me care for my ailing mother who lived with us for the last years of her life. He is my love and I can't imagine life without him. Now, we can have the dignity, as well as all the responsibilities, of marriage. We embrace it all heartily.
The California Supreme Court further ruled that our Constitution provides for equal protection for all and that it cannot have marriage for one group and another form - domestic partnership - for another group. No more "separate but equal." No more second-class citizenship. Brad and I are going to be married as full citizens of our state.
As a Japanese American, I am keenly mindful of the subtle and not so subtle discrimination that the law can impose. During World War II, I grew up imprisoned behind the barbed wire fences of U.S. internment camps. Pearl Harbor had been bombed and Japanese Americans were rounded up and incarcerated simply because we happened to look like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor. Fear and war hysteria swept the nation. A Presidential Executive Order directed the internment of Japanese Americans as a matter of national security. Now, with the passage of time, we look back and see it as a shameful chapter of American history. President Gerald Ford rescinded the Executive Order that imprisoned us. President Ronald Reagan formally apologized for the unjust imprisonment. President George H.W. Bush signed the redress payment checks to the survivors. It was a tragic and dark taint on American history.
With time, I know the opposition to same sex marriage, too, will be seen as an antique and discreditable part of our history. As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy remarked on same sex marriage, "Times can blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary and proper, in fact, serve only to oppress."
For now, Brad and I are enjoying the delicious dilemma of deciding where, when, and how we will be married. Marriage equality took a long time, but, like fine wine, its bouquet is simply exquisite.
***END***
Posted 8:05 AM EST by Andy Towle in California, Gay Marriage, George Takei, News | Permalink
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Congrats to everyone in CA who's about to tie the knots!! We just celebrated 4 years of gay marriage in Massachusetts. We just suggest that CA gay couples planning to marry chat with a lawyer or counselor & get the facts about your State's marriage laws before making
it legal. It could save you a lot of $$$ & grief in the long run. Check OUT our short on gay marriage: www.OUTTAKEonline.com
Posted by: Charlotte | May 19, 2008 9:26:33 AM
Congrats to everyone in CA who's about to tie the knots!! We just celebrated 4 years of gay marriage in Massachusetts. We just suggest that CA gay couples planning to marry chat with a lawyer or counselor & get the facts about your State's marriage laws before making
it legal. It could save you a lot of $$$ & grief in the long run. Check OUT our short on gay marriage: www.OUTTAKEonline.com
Posted by: Charlotte | May 19, 2008 9:27:36 AM
Ahead, Sulu, Warp Factor 6.
Posted by: JerzeeMike | May 19, 2008 9:51:54 AM
i love george. so happy for them. :-)
Posted by: greta | May 19, 2008 11:08:39 AM
Hey, congrats to all in CA! Up here in Canada it's been wonderful to have total equality in marriage. I've been lucky enough to get called in to service as a witness for two lovely gentlemen (tourists) who tied the knot during Pride two years ago, I was so proud and happy for them. This will help the battle for equality all over the US. If a jurisdiction refuses to recognize your Canadian, or CA, or MASS marriage, they should be refusing to recognize ANY marriage from these places, which we know they won't be, but this adds weight to legal challenges. Fight the power, and never stop believing your own nation is based on ALL men being created equal.
I love George and Brad and heard George live on the Howard Stern Show this morning. Congrats to them, they deserve this victory and this joy.
Posted by: Liz | May 19, 2008 11:20:21 AM
If this helps out the happy couple's dilemmas... the bridge crew must be be there for their ultimate roles: Bill to marry them, Leonard to give away the groom, Walter to give away the other grooom, Nichelle and Majel are to be the matrons of honor...
Posted by: Bill | May 19, 2008 12:07:16 PM
Right-wingers are arguing that now we are going to see a rash of Full Faith and Credit lawsuits from couples going to CA to get married and then going back home to file, but DOMA already went through the Supreme Court, so this is a lie.
Posted by: anon | May 19, 2008 1:29:29 PM
While there will be FF&C challenges, they will likely lose, especially in those states that have ammended their constitutions.
These marriages will likely only be valid in CA.
Until CA amends it's constitution as well. Remember that not only did 60% of Californians vote for the law, but neither the CA SC nor the Govenor have any say about it.
Posted by: Scott | May 19, 2008 1:53:07 PM
Good News!! Same-Sex marriages should be allowed in all states- Gay/Straight, who cares, we are all Americans and should be given the same rights.
Posted by: amy | May 19, 2008 4:42:40 PM
Here's a little bit of trivia for ya: George Takei and Brad Altman met at FrontRunners, which has gay running and walking groups in major cities all over the world.
So if you're looking for new ways to meet people outside the bars and the chatrooms, you should check out a FrontRunners group.
Posted by: crispy | May 19, 2008 4:52:55 PM
Congratulations George and Brad.
Live long a prosper together!
I couldn't resist. ;)
Posted by: Zeke | May 19, 2008 5:22:12 PM
DOMA has not been dealt with by the Supreme Court of the US. Not sure what anon is referring to.
Posted by: ted | May 19, 2008 6:35:42 PM
From Wikipedia on DOMA:
Several challenges to the law's constitutionality have been presented to the United States Supreme Court since its enactment, but so far the Court has declined to review any such cases. Many states have still not decided whether to recognize other states' same-sex marriages or not, which is unsurprising as only Massachusetts has yet issued licenses for same-sex marriages as of 2006.
DOMA may be largely unnecessary, regardless of whether it is constitutional. If the legal pronouncements of one state conflict with the public policy of another state, federal courts in the past have been reluctant to apply the law of another state in contravention of its own public policy. The public policy exception has been applied in cases of marriage such as polygamy, miscegenation or consanguinity.
Posted by: anon | May 19, 2008 9:03:07 PM
Yay! I <3 Captain Sulu!
Posted by: Aman Chaudhary | May 20, 2008 4:23:48 AM
I've know both men for over twenty years and I think that this is just great. They are a good example for the rest of us.
Posted by: Barry | May 20, 2008 8:36:59 PM