Public Service Announcement

If you live in California and will be getting married sometime in the near future, you may want to see this:

California health officials say the words "bride" and "groom" will reappear on marriage license applications starting next month.

In a notice posted on its Web site, the California Department of Public Health says many couples still wanted the option of identifying themselves in traditional terms.

Apparently, "Thing One" and "Thing Two" didn't fly.

Seriously, though, while the "Party A" and "Party B" designations won't be on the forms, there will be optional boxes marriage license applicants can check off to identify themselves as "bride" or "groom." No word yet on whether both applicants can call themselves "brides" or "grooms." Or on what security precautions county clerks should take in the event that the applicants haven't discussed that issue before arriving to apply for a license.

It simply doesn't make sense to change the wording of marriage licenses to accommodate the tiny handful of same-sex couples who will ever apply for a marriage license. Then again, it didn't--and still doesn't--make sense to change the centuries-old definition and understanding of the word "marriage" to accommodate this extremely small group of people, either.