Show sex Same-sex and low I low key key Jessica Garrison Los Angeles Times The gay and lesbian couples who packed a Hollywood auditorium last week had come seeking information about California's new marriage I policies But they also received some unsolicited i advice 1 Be aware Images from gay I weddings said Lorri L. L I Jean chief executive of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center could be used by opponents in ina ina a campaign designed to convince California voters that gays and lesbians should not have the right to many Those getting married she cautioned should never lose sight of what they might be supplying the other side Sitting close to his to husband-to-be in the audience Kendall Hamilton nodded and said he knew just what she meant No guys showing up in gowns he said Its a weird subject added Hamilton 39 who plans to wed his partner of five years Ray We Ve want everybody to be befree befree befree free but the image does matter They are going to try to make us look like freaks As couples flood into courthouses to obtain marriage licenses both sides are keenly aware that in less than five months voters will decide whether to amend the state Constitution to define j. j fine marriage a as being i g only between a man and a woman With that thann in mind ro proponents are trying trying hard to manage what kinds of gay marriage images Californians see during this years year's so-called so Summer of Love Opponents maintain that Californians Californians' views have not changed substantially since since 2000 when more than 60 percent of voters cast ballots against gay marriage They predict that the spectacle of men marrying men and women marrying women will spur voters to support the anti- anti gay marriage amendment The more that homosexual activists wave their hijacked marriage licenses in peoples people's faces the more people will say This isn't right What can I do about this said Randy Thomasson the founder of the Campaign for Children and Families Proponents predict that when voters witness the love and commitment involved in the marriages they will be won over and wont won't vote to disallow them Strategists point to polls showing that in 2004 after Massachusetts allowed gay marriage people who saw the weddings became more supportive All you had to do was just see it and it was very difficult to then walk walkaway walkaway walkaway away and say That is not nota a wonderful thing said Eric Jay an adviser to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom Its the power of marriage That said both sides know that the images of some partnerships might be bemore bemore bemore more palatable than others One of the things that have hurt the gay effort in California is the exhibitionism in San Francisco which doesn't always play well elsewhere said political analyst Tony Quinn With the November initiative looming pr proponents pm ent r of sex same sex marriage are taking care to emphasize mainstream unions By design San San Francisco's first wedding officiated by Newsom was of octogenarian lesbians Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon who have been together for more than half halfa a century They were also the first couple married by Newsom four years ago during the Winter of Love when San Francisco defied state law and began marrying sex same-sex couples Those marriages were later invalidated setting the stage for the legal confrontation that resulted in the state Supreme Court decision allowing gay marriage Martin and Lyon were married Monday in a private ceremony in Newsoms Newsom's City Hall office with only The two news agencies Associated Press and the San Franc Francisco Chronicle allowed to attend Many of the other early weddings around the state were also of long- long term couples who could have been selected by central casting to appear both and mainstream In many cases news releases were issued and the media invited In Los Angeles the first wedding at pm p.m. PDT Monday was between Robin Tyler 66 and Diane Olson 54 In another early ceremony year old George Takei who played Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek will wed his partner of 21 years Brad A Altman on Tuesday morning San Diego's first wedding will be between Bob Lehman a former Marine who served a combat tour tourin tourin tourin in the Persian Gulf and his partner of 15 years Tom Felkner Keeping celebrations celebrations' tame might be tough he said Its a micro- micro managers manager's nightmare Theres There's no way to control everything All we can do dois dois dois is remind people that it is really important Staff writers To TOil Tony Perr Perry Carla Hall and John Johll Glionna Glianna contributed to this report |