Photographer Derek Powazek gives us a pretty wonderful photo gallery of what marriage looks like. These photos were taken on February 15, on the steps of City Hall, in San Francisco. And what is most striking about the photos is the join and love in the couples’ eyes. There were so many great photos, but there’s one that told such a story. (Granted, I have no idea of the story is true… but, hey… even if it’s not, it still is.)

The picture was of these two older men coming out of the main entrace of City Hall. I would guess they were in their 60s. They are both dressed in suits, one of them in a three-piece suit, and they are holding hands. They are smiling, although it also appears that the bright light is a bit of a shock as they step out into the light. And as I looked at the picture, I imagined that hey could have been waiting for this moment for decades. I imagined their lives at home, together for twenty… thirty… forty years… and I pictured them hearing that the mayor was going to do this. I can imagine them getting dressed and hurrying down to City Hall, not even quite believing that after so long, there might be some small official recognition of their marriage on the part of our government. The looks on their faces somehow convey joy, love, relief…

And for me, there’s an obvious next question: Our society doesn’t allow that kind of joy why?

And in a truly bold political move, Chicao Richard Daley has spoken out in favor of gay marriage. He is into the idea of Chicago doing the same thing San Francisco has been doing.

This might be a lefty perspective, but I don’t see this issue going away, and I don’t see our side losing. Those people who are against this sound to me like those folks at the end of the 1950s-60s civil rights movement who were desperate to find excuses to deny blacks rights. Their rhetoric gets more shrill, and their arguments don’t hold up.

And to counter that, we’ve got the truth in images like this.

Happy Belated Valentines Day to All.