Two years ago on February 12th, Gavin Newsom opened the doors to San Francisco City Hall and over 4,000 same-sex couples walked into the building and got married. Those marriages were later overturned but the determination to end discrimination is stronger than ever. Equality California (EQCA) has launched a month-long campaign to galvanize people around the cause of ending marriage discrimination against same-sex couples. EQCA's Get Engaged Tour has hit the road, carrying the message of marriage equality to virtually all 58 counties in California.

A highlight of the Get Engaged Tour took place on Valentine's Day, when thousands of LGBT Californians put their hearts into the marriage equality cause. In each county, couples went to their county clerk's office to request a marriage license. These actions served to shine a light on the government's discrimination against same-sex couples, and give a face to the part of the population that is negatively impacted by the inability to marry.

Some local February 14th actions: There was a marriage counteraction at 12pm on Tuesday at the Sonoma County Clerk's Office at 2300 County Center Drive, Suite B177 in Santa Rosa. Last year Sonoma County had the biggest turnout in the state at its Valentine's Day event. Same-sex couples went inside to request marriage licenses, and straight and LGBT supporters will cheer them on while bearing witness to the discrimination against them. Clergy who are willing to conduct marriage ceremonies, if they were legal, were also in attendance. In Marin County, people gathered at the office of Howard Hanson, the Clerk-Recorder, at 3501 Civic Center Drive, Room 232, San Rafael, at 9am. In Napa County, people came together at 12pm at the office of the County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar, 900 Coombs, Room 116 in Napa.

Find more EQCA chapters and their Valentine's Day actions