Widow Celebrates President's Stance on Gay Marriage, Pushes for More Change

A SoCal widow celebrated President Barack Obama’s change of heart on same-sex marriage, but would like him to go a step further.

Alice Herman said she screamed Wednesday when she learned that Obama said he believed same-sex couples should have the right to marry.

“He came out,” Herman said with a laugh, "which he might not appreciate it saying it that way."

Herman said she was beside herself when Obama made the announcement to ABC News. Still, she questioned why her lifestyle should be up for so much debate.

"I would like someone to look at me and tell me how my love for Sylvia and the life that we lived for 45 years in any way interferes with their loving relationship," she said. "I just don't understand why this country doesn't love me."

She and her partner Sylvia were married in California, during the short period that it was legal, in the middle of the intensive care unit.

"All of these people in the ICU, who originally sort of looked askance at us, two lesbians, they all applauded," she said.

Two years and seven surgeries later, Sylvia died. Herman tried to get Social Security death benefits, but was turned down.

"A heterosexual couple can have a non-committed relationship for 10 years and they are able to get the benefits," Herman said.

Now, she is hoping the president will support the repeal of the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex couples.

Herman has endorsed a letter sent to the president Wednesday by the Gay and Lesbian Center in Los Angeles, thanking him but also reminding him of the plight of same-sex couples.

The letter uses Herman's story as an example, noting: "There are too many 'Alices' in our country, Mr. President, and not all of them have much time."

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