Los Angeles clergy and city officials, same-sex couples and heterosexual supporters of gay marriage rejoiced in the Supreme Court’s decision to make same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states, on June 26, during a rally in West Hollywood Park.
“Marriage, that peculiar and particular joining of human hearts and souls is high on the list of what serves some human needs,” Beth Chayim Chadashim (BCC) Rabbi Lisa Edwards said, addressing the large crowd that assembled in the park on Friday evening, the same day of the court's ruling, waving American flags and Pride flags and carrying signs that read, “Love Wins.” “It is why it has become a cause worldwide and it is why we are here tonight in such variety of human experience, to celebrate this hard-won victory of the human heart.”
“Shabbat shalom, mazel tov to us all,” she said.
The evening's attendees were in good company: similar events took place all over the country, according to uniteformarriage.org.
The crowd numbered approximately 1,000, this reporter estimated. Others who participated in the program included BCC Rabbi Heather Miller; L.A. City Councilman Paul Koretz; City Controller Ron Galperin and others.
BCC member Bracha Yael was in attendance with her partner of 35 years, Davi Chang, a fellow BCC member.
“I just welled up and cried,” Yael said, describing her reaction to the news Friday morning. Chang said a coworker at her office that day put a scone on her desk and told her “Congratulations.” “We normally don’t talk about those things,” Chang said of she and her coworker.
Edwards, in her remarks, and spotlighting the work of faith leaders who helped make the day's ruling possible, mentioned Congregation Kol Ami Rabbi Denise Eger, who was not in attendance due to being in Israel but was there in spirit.
“As religious leaders we celebrate today how far we have come,” Edwards said, “but we don’t rest yet.”
BCC is the world's oldest gay and lesbian synagogue and Edwards has served there for 21 years. It is one of two LGBT synagogues in Los Angeles. Congregation Kol Ami is the other.
The rally's sponsors included BCC, the Anti-Defamation League and the Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Garcetti was not in attendance.
