Valentine’s Day: A day when lovers send candy and flowers, gaze into one another’s eyes over romantic dinners and express their love for each other in many ways. 



But for nontraditional couples, it has not always been so easy to have a romantic dinner anywhere but at home. 



For example, one night Zandra Rolon and Deborah Johnson, a mixed racial couple who were life partners, decided to go out for a nice dinner and celebrate. They had made a reservation at Papa Choux, a Los Angeles restaurant that was known at the time for fine dining and for the special “Romantic Booth” which had sheer curtains around the booth, strolling violinists, and that special element of privacy. But when they got to the restaurant, at first they were seated, but then told they had to move because two people of the same sex could not sit there. Feeling that they were being sent to “the back of the bus,” the couple called Gloria Allred and sued. 



This happened on Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday in 1983, and the couple prevailed. There have been many changes in our laws and culture since, but non traditional couples are still fighting for the same simple rights. In fact, for many LGBT couples, Valentine’s Day has become a time of protest.

This year marks the 10th Anniversary of National “Freedom to Marry Day” which has stretched into a week–long event around Valentines Day. Same sex couples all over the country protest the inequality they feel. For example, in 2005 42 same sex Houston couples gathered over the weekend and exchanged vows in a mass ceremony, even though Texas does not recognize their marriages. Unitarian Universalist, Disciples of Christ, Presbyterian, American Baptist, Pentecostal and other nondenominational ministers took part in the ceremony. In California, many couples have applied for marriage licenses during this time, knowing that they will be denied.

Long Beach is proud to join the national effort and celebrates the 8th Annual Long Beach Marriage License Counter Event on Valentines Day at 10 am at the County Clerk’s Office. But at the same time, Long Beach proudly celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the enactment of the city’s Domestic Partner registration. Passed by the city council in 1997, Long Beach became one of the first ten cities in California to recognize domestic partners, with the state legislature of California following suit three years later.