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Making a Statement

By Michelle Bixby


Same-sex partners Delia Guzman and Katerina Sinclair initially turned down the opportunity to publicly commit to each other during the Pride Commitment Ceremony at Penn State University's HUB Alumni Hall.

"When we first talked about it, we discussed the fact that gay marriage is not really an issue we feel strongly about," Guzman said. "We each put our attentions to different things."

Guzman is a senior at Penn State studying crime, law and justice. She focuses primarily on politics, birding and science. Her partner, Sinclair, is pursuing a doctorate in human development and family studies. She focuses on the study of gay teen victimization and suicide.

The couple purchased a house in Spring Mills two years ago to escape the noise of State College. Guzman spends her spare time bird watching in the marsh on the property; while Sinclair spends her time teaching a course at Penn State University called "Sexuality Across the Lifespan." With their busy schedules, they said the commitment ceremony seemed relatively unimportant.

"We were a little hesitant to put our energies toward the ceremony, but we weren't necessarily ruling it out," Guzman Said. "Kat and I are already in a committed relationship, so why bother to go through with some ceremony?"

But when Rev. Gary Dull from the Faith Baptist Church of Altoona began petitioning against the ceremony, Guzman and Sinclair decided to make a political statement and participate. (Listen to their comments video)

"The fact that we were already committed to one another was just icing on the cake," Guzman said.

On the sunny Saturday morning of the ceremony, tensions were high, but all four couples participating in the ceremony walked across the street from the Bouke building through a path of rainbow colored umbrellas to Alumni Hall.

"We were all so very nervous" Sinclair said. "Then as soon as we walked out that door, there was nothing negative, there was nothing but rainbows."

Despite the controversy with local churches, Mayor Bill Welch presided over the commitment ceremony with more than 700 in attendance. Just a short distance away, on the lawn of Old Main, Rev. Gary Dull led a rally focused on the importance of family values in heterosexual marriages.

"This is not about the Bible, it's about commitment and love," Mayor Welch said.
During the ceremony, Guzman and Sinclair were the first couple to publicly declare their commitment and love to one another. They have been in a committed relationship for six years.

Guzman recalls the feeling of knowing at the beginning of the relationship that it was "something special."

"I always call her my puzzle piece, because she fit so perfectly into my life and my soul," Guzman said, "and she felt the same way about me."

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