Robert Castillo first proposed to John Pennycuff about seven years ago through an ad in one of Chicago’s gay newspapers.
But Castillo and Pennycuff bought their wedding rings Thursday.
The pair, who were the first couple to register on Cook County’s Domestic Partnership Registry in October, decided to fly to San Francisco on Thursday to get a marriage license. They plan to wait outside of the city clerk’s office at 6 a.m. Friday to join the almost 3,000 same-sex couples who are now legally married.
Pennycuff said he’s been acting like a nervous groom and has been unable to sleep. “It’s a strange feeling because we are going through a whole different vocabulary from ‘this is my partner’ to ‘this is my husband,’ ” he said.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s decision last week to defy California law and have his government perform weddings for same-sex couples has inspired couples in Chicago like Castillo and Pennycuff, who argue that a marriage certificate would show that society sanctions their love for each other. At the same time, it has angered critics who say allowing same-sex marriage will undermine the institution.
Castillo and Pennycuff, together for 13 years, are self-described longtime activists and have for years pushed for Chicago to recognize gay marriage. But they did not expect to be able to actually get a marriage license in the U.S. so soon.
“This is a whirlwind thing that is happening,” said Pennycuff, the office manager at Windy City Times, one of Chicago’s gay weekly newspapers. “We thought about Canada and going to Massachusetts. But when we saw what was going on in San Francisco, we decided: Let’s go now.”
