Diva Kim and I met in 1997 while we were both activists at the Northwest AIDS Foundation (now Lifelong AIDS Alliance). Over a year later we slowly transitioned from friends to lovers and eventually home owners. At the time our friends and family thought we were crazy for buying a house so early in our relationship. But for us and many gays of our generation, Real Estate was the only legal way we could cement and legalize our relationship in society. Many of us bought houses and were on the forefront of changing Seattle’s neighborhoods. It was our way of making a stand as a family in society by beautifying our own homes and our surrounding communities. Not to mention it was the easiest and most effective way for us gays to merge our credit and resources because we could not legally marry. Fourteen years later Kim and I are still together, we own Chez Diva, have several pets, lots of nieces and nephew and our proudest creation as co-owners of Team Diva Partners, LLC. I would say we made the right decision!

Today Team Diva is overjoyed and very proud of Christine Gregoire for signing into Law the Gay Marriage Bill. Just think what this means for the next generation of the LGBTQ community. You meet, fall in love, get married and THEN decide you want to buy a house with YOUR legal husband or wife. No longer will this generation have to even think of their long term love as their gay “partner.” Instead, legally we are just like everyone else. Just married. Plain and simple.

Bring on the invitations to weddings. Bring on the wedding spectacular. Bring on the bubbles. Bring on the rings. Bring on the Flowers. Cause these gays are going to the chapel of LOVE. YEAH GAY MARRIAGE!