Married at last: California Supreme Court ruling finally makes them legal

By Judy Lin

When Peter Hayashida '88 learned on the morning of May 15 that the California Supreme Court ruling had voted to legalize same-sex marriage, he text-messaged his partner, Michael Olman.

"It passed. Will you marry me?"

Hayashida, UCLA assistant vice chancellor for external affairs, was in Parking Lot 4 listening to the news on his car radio. "Tears were streaming down my face," he recalled. And although Olman, a TV sound engineer, offered a characteristic joking response — "Let's wait to see how the rest of the day goes" — "This was an important moment for both of us," Hayashida said. The couple could finally be married after 14 years together.

That same morning, Ronni Sanlo watched the TV news with friends and colleagues at UCLA’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Resource Office, which she directs, when the ruling was announced.

"Everyone just started cheering and hugging," Sanlo said. "It was very exciting."

A civil rights activist on the local, state and national levels for more than 30 years, Sanlo said she is thrilled but not altogether surprised by the action. "People have always said to me, 'X can happen ... but not in your lifetime.' Well, I have seen a lot of changes since I came out in 1979. I believe in 'Never say never.' "

Read the complete story in UCLA Today Online.

Published Jul 2, 2008 10:54 AM