In this 2008, file photo, Phyllis Lyon, left, and Del Martin are photographed at home in San Francisco. Photo / APIn this 2008, file photo, Phyllis Lyon, left, and Del Martin are photographed at home in San Francisco. Photo / APThe hilltop cottage belonging to a lesbian couple who were the first same-sex partners to legally marry in San Francisco has become a city landmark. "They provided a place for lesbians who were really, really, really in the closet to hang out and dance, have holiday potlucks so they wouldn't have to go home and hang out with their homophobic relatives," said Shayne Watson, an architectural historian who specialises in LGBTQ heritage conservation and was active in the movement to get the home landmarked. Gavin Newsom was a newly elected mayor of San Francisco in 2004 when he decided to challenge California's marriage laws by issuing licenses to same-sex couples.

Source: New Zealand Herald May 06, 2021 05:15 UTC