Jun 16, 2008 10:16 pm US/Central
Calif. Gay Marriage Ruling Draws Chicago Couples
Logan Square Couple Plans 2nd Trip To Calif. For 'I Dos'
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Logan Square residents John Pennycuff and Robert Castillo were first married in California in 2004, and are now planning another trip out west to marry again.
CBS
John Pennycuff and Robert Castillo from Logan Square have been a couple for 17 years. They have a wedding book full of pictures of the day in 2004 when they traveled to San Francisco, received a marriage license and said "I do."
"Literally the happiest day of my life to be able to marry the man that I love," Pennycuff said of that day.
But weeks later, California banned the unions. And now an historic court ruling legalizing gay and lesbian marriages there is taking effect, and Pennycuff and Castillo are emotional as they make plans to return to next week to tie the knot one more time.
"Kind of bittersweet to be going through it again," Castillo said. "I was really happy the first time and I was saddened and shocked when it was invalidated."
California began issuing same sex marriage licenses Monday evening, with the first weddings to take place shortly after. And on its tourism Web site, the state is now actively marketing California to gay couples across America anxious to wed.
"It means an economic boom for southern California," said Susan Wilcox of the California Travel and Tourism Commission.
But many people are planning to fight the unions once again.
"This is a slippery slope," said one opponent of same-sex marriage. "If we fall in the abyss this is the first step downhill from here."
But for Castillo and Pennycuff, their journey to San Francisco is a step in the right direction.
"I just want to go there to city hall, say 'I do,' kiss John and then be married," Castillo said.
The couple will travel to California next week. They know their marriage won't be valid in Illinois, but they view their efforts as part of the greater fight to guarantee civil rights to all Americans.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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