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>> ix Acknowledgments At the core of any work of social science are the people whose story it tells. This one was inspired by a few groups of particularly brave individuals : the advocates and attorneys at GLAD, NCLR, Lambda Legal, Marriage Equality USA, Mass Equality, and elsewhere who have fought tirelessly for the rights of LGBT citizens; the public officials in local and state government who made same-sex marriage a reality, balancing efficiency and passion, bureaucracy and care, to make these marriages not only possible but memorable; and most importantly, the couples who followed their hearts, braving the elements, political backlash, and long lines to marry one another. I am particularly grateful to and inspired by the former mayor of San Francisco Gavin Newsom, the San Francisco deputy city attorney Therese Stewart, the former Cambridge city clerk Margaret Drury, the former Marriage Equality USA media director Molly McKay, the NCLR executive director Kate Kendall and its legal director Shannon Minter, Phyllis Lyon and the late Del Martin, the 1,467 couples who returned completed surveys, and the one hundred couples who agreed to be interviewed for this book, for their time, generosity , and bravery. The data collection for this project was a multiyear venture, which would not have been possible without the support of the National Science Foundation Law and Social Science Program (Grant Award# SES-0453080), the University of San Francisco School of Arts and Sciences and (then) Dean Jennifer Turpin, Molly McKay and Geoff Kors of Equality California, the Cambridge County clerk’s office, other anonymous individuals in both California and Massachusetts, and a bevy of diligent research assistants over the years: Eric Asmar, Leila Block, Ambar Collins, Christina Fernandes, Christina Hebets, Janice Jentz, x > xi could marry the person of my choice at the moment of my choice. And indeed, it is my privilege to be married to a wonderfully supportive , generous, and patient scholar, collaborator, confidant, father, and husband, Richard Leo. I thank him and our two miraculous, adorably sweet, and hysterically funny daughters, Emily and Layla, for giving my life balance, meaning, and love. This page intentionally left blank ...

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