By Richard Read

California might not be full-on pink like some other places on the big map of StatesThatAllowGayMarriage.com, but it’s definitely rosier than it was yesterday. Of course, as a community, we’ve still got a very long row to hoe before we reach anything approximating “equality”, but still, U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker’s ruling yesterday came as very welcome news.

Given the massive uncertainty surrounding the much-needed repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” — not to mention the passage of ENDA — Walker’s lengthy and thoroughly decisive opinion has given us a welcome boost. It’s also dabbed a bit of salve on the heartbreak that millions experienced in November 2008, when, at the exact moment many Americans felt their country moving forward, the passage of Proposition 8 provided a bitter reminder that progress is never a straight line. (Double-entendre intended.)

What does any of this have to do with cars? Not much. (Well, apart from issues of property ownership, inheritance, and such.) But “gay” makes up almost half our name here at Gaywheels, so we thought it only fitting to acknowledge the significance — however symbolic — of yesterday’s news.

In case you missed it, here’s one of the better speeches we’ve seen in response to Walker’s ruling, given by Chad Griffin from the American Foundation for Equal Rights. Enjoy, and we’ll see you soon: