Kelly's Email to his Family (so sweet)

Here's the email Kelly sent to his parents. Since we made the decision to do this so quickly (less than 10 days ago), there was no perfect way to announce this. He did a good job, I think.

--Tom
-----Original Message-----
From: Kelly Krebs [mailto:kkrebs@gw.hamline.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 8:10 PM
To: Clemens, Tom
Subject:

Hi Family Krebs,

Some of you know this already---but I wanted to send an email with more explanation. Tom and I are finally going to make it legal.

As you may or may not know, starting next week, California will begin to allow same-sex couples to marry. Unlike Massachusetts, you do not need to be a resident of California to marry in the state. Needless to say---the announcement is stunning. California offers a historic opportunity for us to finally do what we have talked about for years----formally recognize our relationship and the commitment we have towards each other.

So, Tom and I are heading to San Francisco next week to tie the knot! The first full day of marriages will happen on Tuesday, June 17 and we are on the docket to be part of that ground-breaking group.

Even though our marriage will not be recognized in Minnesota (yet), we felt it important to act now. As I said before, this is an historic moment and we want to be a part of it. We believe that in order for the country as a whole to move towards marriage equality, it's going to take people going to California, getting married, and then going back to their home states to push for recognition.

For years, Tom and I have been talking about doing a commitment ceremony and we decided not to wait any longer. This opportunity for full marriage is just too important to pass up. We have an appointment at San Francisco City Hall on Tuesday morning at 9:30 am to get our marriage license and a civil ceremony with a justice of the peace at 10:30 am. We'll be one of the first couples to be married, on the first day. We're allowed two witnesses. Holly, and an old friend of Tom's will be joining us for the celebration. We're thrilled and honored to have them with us. While we wish we could have all of our family and friends with us for this important event in our lives, it's just not possible.

Don't worry though! Next summer, we'll do a reception back in Minnesota so that we can celebrate with our family and friends. It will be a party!!

I want to thank all of you for the love and support you've given to Tom and I over the 10 years that we've been together. It's meant so much to me that you've made him part of the family. I love him so much couldn't imagine my life without him.

We'll send pictures when we have them!