Plans underway for Pride Parade amid expected Supreme Court ruling
SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - Rainbow flags line Market Street and people gathered on the rooftop deck of the San Francisco LGBT Center Wednesday evening for a kickoff party to celebrate the start of the 45th year of SF Pride.
What's most likely to color this year's event, though, will be a decision from Washington.
"We're definitely going to wait until the Supreme Court decision to decide how we feel about pride," said James Chang of Berkeley who was attending the party.
The 2015 SF Pride celebration on June 27-28th happens to coincide with the expected ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court by the end of June on a group of landmark cases regarding same-sex marriage and whether state marriage bans violate the U.S. Constitution.
The ruling could affect the tone of this year's event and whether SF Pride becomes a celebration or a call to action.
The man at the center of the Supreme Court case, Jim Obergefell, spoke Wednesday at San Francisco's city hall. His case Obergefell v. Hodges involves a dispute over whether his marriage in another state should be recognized in Ohio.
Obergefell and his partner of 20 years John Arthur flew to Maryland so they could get married before John died of ALS three months later. Ohio, which has a ban on same-sex marriage, refused to put Obergefell on Arthur's death certificate.
"I fight for my husband John. I fight for Leelah Alcorn and Islan Nettles. I fight for Harvey Milk and for the millions of LGBT Americans who have gone before me and those who will follow in our footsteps," Obergefell said, his voice cracking slightly with emotion.
"I fight for an America that lives up to its motto liberty and justice for all. And I look forward to the day those four words above the Supreme Court truly apply, 'Equal justice under the law,'" Obergefell said.
"I think that it's monumental, in the sense that it will like affect a lot of people's lives and perceptions," said Aaron Stella of San Francisco.
"The community as a whole is trying to band together or at least there's a greater sense of community," said Joshua Lindsay, a San Francisco resident.
"There's some degree of anxiety and I think for same sex couples around the country and their families there's a lot of anxiety about are our families going to be recognized and our relationships seen as equal," said Rebecca Rolfe, Executive Director of the San Francisco LGBT Center.
SF Pride is planning to feature a live wedding this year on the main stage, no matter which way the Supreme Court decision comes down.
If the court upholds same sex marriage bans, it could impact as many as 20 of the 36 states in the U.S. where same sex marriage is currently allowed.