Rosie O'Donnell Weds Longtime Girlfriend

Associated Press ^ | 02/26/2004 | Lisa Leff

[Therapist]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Rosie O'Donnell married her longtime girlfriend Thursday, taking what she called a proud stand for gay civil rights in the city where more than 3,300 other same-sex couples have tied the knot since Feb. 12.

"I want to thank the city of San Francisco for this amazing stance the mayor has taken for all the people here, not just us but all the thousands and thousands of loving, law-abiding couples," the former talk show host, holding a large bouquet of purple and yellow flowers, said after she and Kelli Carpenter emerged from their brief ceremony inside Mayor Gavin Newsom's office.

Earlier Thursday, O'Donnell announced her wedding plans on ABC's "Good Morning America," just two days after President Bush called for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

She said the president's call is what inspired her to come to San Francisco, where city officials continue to perform same-sex weddings even as state courts are considering the legality of those marriages.

"I think the actions of the president are, in my opinion, the most vile and hateful words ever spoken by a sitting president," O'Donnell, who lives in the New York City region, said on the program. "I am stunned and I'm horrified.

"I find this proposed amendment very, very, very, very shocking. And immoral. And, you know, if civil disobedience is the way to go about change, then I think a lot of people will be going to San Francisco. And I hope they put more people on the steps to marry as many people as show up. And I hope everyone shows up."

O'Donnell and Carpenter, who have four children together, walked hand in hand down the grand marble staircase in the rotunda to thunderous applause from hundreds of spectators who came to witness the city's first celebrity same-sex wedding. O'Donnell was wearing a powder-blue blazer, black shirt and black pants; Carpenter wore a gray pantsuit.

As the San Francisco's Gay Men's Chorus serenaded the couple with a few bars of "Going to the Chapel," O'Donnell smiled and said, "We really did. We got married."

O'Donnell said she decided to marry Carpenter, a former dancer and marketing director at Nickelodeon, during her recent trial in New York over the now-defunct Rosie magazine. During the case, she referred to Carpenter as her wife.

"We applied for spousal privilege and were denied it by the state. As a result, everything that I said to Kelli, every letter that I wrote her, every e-mail, every correspondence and conversation was entered into the record," O'Donnell said. "After the trial, I am now and will forever be a total proponent of gay marriage."

[Therapist]

If you want to send her a gift, she is registered at Snap-On-Tools. She gives a whole new(or new hole) meaning to "Rosie the Riveter".

[jwalsh07]

Kafkaesque.

[billorites]

“Here comes the bride….. all fat and wide”

[journey7873]

You mean Strap-On-Tools.

[So Cal Rocket]

NO pictures, please!

[billorites]

We really did. We got married."

Uh, no.

No you didn't.

[kaktuskid]

If you want to send her a gift, she is registered at Snap-On-Tools

Thought it would have been at Krispy Kreme!!!

[mystery-ak]

Ok...how do we address the newlyweds...Mr&Mrs, Mrs&Mrs, Mr&Mr....etc....I want to be so PC.

[alloysteel]

Golly, isn't that just too sweet for words? And Rosie's family must be so pleased that Rosie is now an honest woman. There was a period during which they despaired that Rosie would never marry.

But if the fine print on the marriage license is read, she STILL isn't truthfully legally wed.

For some peole, mock weddings work. Still one of the more honest things she has done in her lifetime.

[KQQL]

“Here comes the bride….. all fat and wide”

The fat one is the groom...the blond is the bride

[The Mayor]

no pics of the newlyweds..

[VRWC_minion]

Now she can feel accepted, right ?

[R. Scott]

Once again, beer sprayed on my monitor! How much more can it handle?
I wonder which was the bride and which the groom - my money is Rosie being the groom.

[NonValueAdded]

I wonder if there is a pre-nup? Just wait until one of these gay "marriages" breaks up for a "couple" with substantial assets and one asserts community-property. What is the defense? "Oh, no, it wasn't a legal marriage under state law and there is no way I should give up half my loot."

[Ronly Bonly Jones]

Rosie O'Donnell Weds Longtime Girlfriend>>

No she didn't. And no, the beeyach never will either.

[traumer]

Snap-On-Tools or Strap-On-Tools ... ??

Sodom and Gommorah

[Therapist]

No pics or pricks.

[The Mayor]

Here's the groom..

[The Mayor]

pricks

[Feiny]

Queerly beloved, we are gathered here today to....