US: Gay couple who had wedding ruined by homophobe given ‘do-over’ ceremony
A gay couple who had their wedding ruined by a homophobic heckler have been gifted a second chance to hold their dream ceremony.
Oscar de las Salas and Gary Jackson married in Coronado, California last month, but had their wedding ceremony interrupted by a man shouting “go home fags” and other anti-gay slurs.
However, after news of the incident broke, business owners and residents of the city have rallied round the pair – and donated enough to allow them to have a ‘do-over’ ceremony.
Oscar de Las Salas, who will marry his husband again next week, told UT San Diego: “The people of Coronado, who said they wouldn’t tolerate what happened to us, have created a happy ending. We never expected this. It’s incredible.”
The city’s Mayor, Casey Tanaka, has even offered to officiate the second ceremony for the couple.
He said: “The hateful shouts of one person should not serve as a representation of how our community as a whole behaves. I’m happy our city has a chance to make things right.”
Alisa Kerr, an attorney who helped arrange the second ceremony, said: “Their wedding being marred by some jerk is such an inaccurate reflection of the community and the kindness we have here for everybody.
“We were planning at first to just throw them a little party, but the whole community has been so generous that we’re really going to be able to show them how awesome Coronado is.”
