Same-Sex Couple's Quest for Equality Ends in Indiana Marriage

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR
By Tim Wiggins
Pastor Vivian Wyatt (left), oversees the Indiana marriage of Dawn (in black) and Charlotte Egler on Oct. 10, 2014. The Eglers, who had a holy union ceremony in 1997 at Life Journey Church in Indianapolis and also were then married in Canada in 2003, finally legally tied the knot again at Life Journey Church. (Photo: Robert Scheer/The Star )
INDIANA---The wall of the stairway in Dawn and Charlotte Egler's home tells the story of the couple's commitment to one another. It's a commemorative arc that begins with a holy union ceremony in 1997 at their church in Indianapolis and concludes with an outdoor wedding 11 years ago in Canada. And now, the Hendricks County couple is making space on the wall to mark another milestone. They were married again last weekend in Indianapolis. Finally, 17 years after their first commitment ceremony, it's the real deal. All legal. [link]

  • That dramatic swing changed the legal landscape in Indiana on Oct. 6, when the U.S. Supreme refused to take up an appeal of a federal court ruling that found the state's ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional.
  • "In American history," said Paul D. Castillo of Lambda Legal, "there has never been a comparable social phenomenon that has achieved victory so quickly."
  • It took nearly 50 years before a majority of Americans no longer opposed interracial marriage, said Frank Newport, editor in chief at Gallup, the national polling firm. That tipping point didn't come until 1997 — 48 years after a court order forced California to lift its interracial marriage ban.
  • Even in 1967, when a U.S. Supreme Court ruling made interracial marriage legal in all states, 72 percent of Americans still opposed the idea of blacks and whites marrying.
  • When Massachusetts became the first state to legalize gay marriage in 2004, a majority of Americans — 55 percent — still were opposed. Yet only seven years later, Newport said, polling showed a majority of Americans for the first time supported same-sex marriage. And public backing has continued to rise since 2011.