Help Ed and Derence Get Married

Ed Watson and Derence Kernel have been together for forty years; living together, loving together, and being denied equality together. Their story isn't quite so different from many other gay couple around the country except for one thing.

Ed is suffering from Alzheimer's. And they'd like the Supreme Court to lift the stay on same-sex marriages in California so they can get married.

Do they want to get married so Derence can visit Ed in the hospital without hassle?
That would be  a 'No'.

So, they must want to get married for insurance reasons, to help defray the cost of treatment and care for Ed as he battles Alzheimer's.
That would also be a 'No'.

Ed Watson and Derence Kernel want the Supreme Court to lift the stay and let them be married for one reason: so Ed can remember the ceremony. Remember the commitment.

How is that wrong?

Please go to Prop 8 Trial Tracker and sign Ed and Derence's open letter to the 9th Circuit court asking them to lift the stay.

Here is that letter:

Dear Courage Campaigner,

Yesterday I found out the California Supreme Court denied a motion to speed up the Prop 8 trial. They're going to take their summer recess and come back in around 6 months or so. It must be nice for them.

Thing is, I am 78 years old, and I have Alzheimer's disease. I have been with my partner, Derence, for over 40 years. And if the courts drag this out for months and months, I fear I will, God forbid, lose the ability to recognize my beloved Derence when he gets on his knee to propose to me.

I can't afford that, and Derence deserves better. That's why I agreed to be named in Courage Campaign's amicus curiae letter to the 9th Circuit, asking that the stay be lifted so I can at least have my dignity on our wedding day.

Please watch this video of me and my partner Derence, and then co-sign our letter to the 9th Circuit, begging them to lift the stay while the California Supreme Court drags its feet.

If the California Supreme Court is going to take its time, then we deserve the dignity of marriage...before I can't remember what marriage is.

Humbly,

Ed Watson, Palm Springs, CA