They woke up in the Hollywood Hills not knowing whether they'd still be married when the sun plunged into the Pacific. Stuart went to work; Jamie had a doctor's appointment.
Their status was in the hands of the state Supreme Court.
Advertisement
California's gay marriage rulings leave couple perplexed
STEVE LOPEZ
They're still married, but with Prop. 8 upheld, a Hollywood Hills couple are not feeling very welcome in their own state and wonder how so many people can still so badly misunderstand them.
Advertisement
They were a little jittery, naturally, but weary too. For all the progress they've seen during 25 years together, here was yet another public referendum not just on gay marriage but really on whether it's OK to be gay. And it was hard for them to believe this was happening in California after five other states had legalized gay marriage, treating it as a civil rights issue.
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, Iowa.
Iowa?
Stuart Zwagil, an exec with a documentary and entertainment company, was the more optimistic of the two, wanting to believe the supremes would overturn Prop. 8's ban on gay marriage. Jamie Offenbach, a Juilliard-trained opera singer, had his doubts. They both hoped that whatever happened to Prop. 8, their marriage last June would stand, as would those of 18,000 other gay and lesbian couples.
What they got, at 10 a.m., was a partial victory that felt more like a punch in the gut.
"It's bittersweet," Stuart said in his Studio City office as he and Jamie lamented the court's validation of Prop. 8. "If not for Hollywood, the warm weather and the sun, I'd leave."
I've known these guys for eight years, ever since my wife and I bought their house, and they're among our closest friends. I've heard the East Coast transplants say it's easier being gay in Los Angeles than anywhere else they've lived. But Prop. 8 won in L.A. County, Stuart said.
Did it?
He looked it up and Prop. 8 carried by a hair.
Real estate is much cheaper in Iowa, I said, but Stuart didn't appear ready to trade Hollywood for Hartwick or Hayesville.
"I love this state," Jamie said about moving, "but yeah, it's something I would consider."
They're both more inclined, though, to stay put and fight a little harder the next time gay marriage is put to the test. Eventually, Stuart predicted, enough states will be on board to force the federal government to support gay marriage.
"Filing our taxes this year was a nightmare," Stuart said, explaining that they filed as a married couple on their state returns but as two individuals who happen to share the same address on federal returns.
