On the west coast: Today, CA Supreme Court says that domestic partnerships laws for same-sex couple are not good enough. Ruling demands marriage laws be put in place which means Cali will become the second state in nation to offer same-sex marriage by year's end. More from LA Times here.

On the east coast: PA State Senate almost passes a same-sex marriage ban to state constitution. Only withdraws because of committee assignment in the house. Danger still lurks.

Even if the original Gay Liberation movement of the early 70's (which like its friends in Black Power and Feminist movements was trying to blow the lid off the white male patriarchy) would have thought this a hollow victory because of its assimilation-oriented tilt, I can't help but be happy for Cali LGBT folks.

Same-sex marriage won't solve all of my community's problems at all (universal or expanded access to healthcare for all--see below--would help just as many of us, if not more), but it's still a step in the right direction. And California's victory is definitely the cause of one of those "tell me why I live in Philadelphia again" moments.

Earlier tonight, I attended the wedding of Ryan Bunch and Micah Majoubian at City Hall. As I walked up to the building before the ceremomy, I was pretty surprised to see about 20 protesters. Apparently these crazies can read, and had seen the front page Inky article about the wedding earlier this week.

The article detailed Mayor Street's role officiating this ceremony. The Mayor had said he would not sign a marriage certificate, but was simply officiating a non-legally binding ceremony as a friend of Micah's.

The protesters felt that the Mayor's participation was inappropriate so they threw some signs in their trunks, with sayings like "Homosexuality is a Sin" and quotations from Corinthians and Leviticus, and came downtown to protest.

Boy is that First Amendment pesky.

I don't dispute these folks' right to protest, but I gotta tell you, I was shocked by their disrespect. There's a Bridezilla lurking inside of me, so even though this wasn't my wedding, all I could think was "leave them alone, it's their SPECIAL DAY!"

In all seriousness, who would protest a wedding? Well, obviously the radical right would. These protesters were from Repent America, the group that has made a nuisance of itself protesting Philly gay pride events. Their brethren in [the perversion of] Christ, like God Hates Fags, have been perfectly happy to protest at funerals in the past. Tacky.

So anyway, I see all these protesters. And I gotta tell you it hurt my feelings some. I don't know if I mentioned this before, But I'm gay. And as much as I know homophobia exists in the abstract, it's always upsetting when it hits you in the face. Joel, my boyfriend, acts fast. He grabs my hand and we walk past a phalanx of protesters and police into City Hall.

The ceremony itself was great. The Mayor did a great job, and as much as he made point to the Inquirer that this was not going to be a marriage ceremony, save the marriage certificate, that's exactly what it was.

After the service we all troop outside to blow bubbles and send Micah and Ryan off to the reception in CarShare Mini Cooper. We've all done the blowing bubbles/throwing rice thing before right? Ever try it with 20 right-wing nut job protesters?

My intention in this post (at which I may be failing) is not to lecture about the need for LGBT rights. That should be obvious. And for the record, I get that Mayor Street officiating at a wedding at City Hall opened the door for a private event to be publicly protested. However, today's events do inspire me to share is that the issues we talk about here are real.

I mean I guess that's obvious right, but to see protesters today at a private event (not Outfest or Equality Forum) is a reminder to me that there are no polite battle lines. And not just on LGBT issues either.

It may not be customary to see protesters at the homes of low-income Philadelphians with signs that say "you deserve to be poor," but the assault by predatory lenders, gentrifiers, the gun lobby, insurance companies, and others is just as personal.

More simply put, the lack of progressivity in our local, state, and national laws is no accident. Sometimes it's because of incompetence and laziness and petty politics and/or corruption. But sometimes our lack of progressivity is because of plain old selfishness and greed and wrong-headedness.

I know politics is personal, but sometimes I forget how personal. Today was a good opportunity to reaffirm that.