I’m gettin’ married in the mornin’
• Ding dong the bells are gonna chime
• Lesbians can get married
• Tom can marry Jerry
• Please, get me to the church on time!

I sing this song in my performance piece Amor y Revolución (Love and Revolution) with my powerful pant suited lesbian bride on my arm.  We do some lovely twirls a la Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, then, we break into the esteemed dance the Hustle to the beloved queer disco anthem, Do The Hustle. Are you getting nostalgic, my people? Can you smell the poppers? Can you see the boys dancing with the fans?

But my theatrical marriage jig came to a screeching halt when California’s Proposition 8, the 2008 voter approved same sex marriage ban, became law.

We’re not gettin’ married in the mornin’
Voters have taken away our rights
Prop 8 is a hate crime
Full of shit and green slime
We’re angry and we’re gonna fight fight fight!

And fight we did and we were heard. On Wednesday August 4, 2010, Federal Judge Vaughn Walker struck down Proposition 8 stating:

“…The evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples. Because California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and lesbians, and because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.”

Judge Walker’s historical ruling isn’t just for same sex couples—this goes beyond marriage. His verdict acknowledges Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Americans as valued members of this country. And this sends a message to the rest of the folks: We’re here. We’re queer. We’re gettin’ married. And we’re registered at Bloomingdale’s.

To the people who created Proposition 8 and promoted hate, I say to you: Neener, neener, neener!  Look up, look down, look at my thumb—gee you’re dumb!

I realize our fight isn’t over and we’re going to really have to Do The Hustle because it’s going to take Amor y Revolución for marriage equality for all people.

In the meantime, let’s remain visible and vocal and continue to demand our rights. Let’s sing this song in solidarity—shall we?

We’re gettin’ married in the mornin’
Whether you like it or not
We don’t want special rights
We just want equal rights
Because all people should be protected under the law and we’re really hot!

To book Monica for your next event, go to: www.monicapalacios.com