Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon To Marry Legally Mon June 16

Del Martin and Phyllyis Lyon are a lesbian couple who have been together for over 55 years, will become the first same-sex couple to be married legally in San Francisco's historic City Hall on Mon June 16th at 5pm.

They were also one of the first couples to be married by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in March 2004 and were plaintiffs in one of the cases combined during the In Re Marriage Cases litigation which resulted in California's marriage laws being declared unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court.

Lyon, 83, said it was "heartwarming" that the city wants her and Martin, 87, to be the first couple to marry, but she said they are just a small part of what will happen as same-sex marriage begins in California.

"Hundreds of thousands of couples will be getting married this time, and that's the important thing," Lyon said. "It's something that has been due for a long time, and thank god, it's here."

Lyon and Martin first met in Seattle in 1950 and moved in together in a Castro Street apartment on Valentine's Day 1953. Two years later, Lyon and Martin, and three other lesbian couples founded the Daughters of Bilitis, which historians call the first lesbian organization in the United States. Lyon and Martin have been leaders of the lesbian community ever since.

Congratulations, Phyllis and Del!