Florida Marriage Equality a ho hum day at the office...

and in my opinion, that is a very good thing.

I went to the local courthouse this morning with friends who applied for a marriage license. We did not know what to expect, but were stunned to see...no one. The Clerk of Courts had apparently decided to open a little early, add clerks to staff more stations, and when we waltzed in at 9:00 a.m. they had only processed two licenses thus far. We were the only ones (for a few minutes) in the room that generally has a smattering of folks with passport applications, legal filings, etc. It looked like any other day at the courthouse.

The clerk could not have been more professional and personable. She put them right at ease and they were in and out like any other couple who has ever applied for a license there. ~ Psst! Because they are...they are two people in love who wanted to get married.

A few more people came in to conduct their own business while we were there, and we were greeted by an Equality Florida person on the way out who just wanted to make sure no one was experiencing any problems today. No lines, no media frenzy, no one spitting on the parade. Pretty much anyone we passed who mentally connected the dots gave them a friendly smile, and one sheriff's deputy who was grinning like a kid in a toy store, gave me a thumbs up as we left. Returning the license for filing a couple of hours later was similarly entirely unremarkable.

http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2015/01/06/melbourne-gay-couple-among-first-marry-brevard/21335317/

The wonderful thing about this experience was that from start to finish, (okay, other than a reporter and a newspaper photographer being at the ceremony, but I've actually had that before at a few weddings) it felt utterly completely NORMAL. Which is one reason why I dislike the phrase "gay marriage" and prefer "marriage equality."

Two people. In love. Lifetime Commitment. Marriage License. Done!

So shall we start a pool on how long it's going to take the remaining 14 states? I'm thinking not long!