People from around the world came together yesterday for the Women’s March on Washington. This march, originally planned for Washington, D.C., spread to cities all over the world (seriously, they marched in Antarctica)! While the Women’s March website cited the missing as standing in “…solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families – recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country,” one of the major reasons for the march was equal rights for many minority groups, not just women, including the LGBTQ community. What better way to celebrate women, love and equal rights for love between women than with a marriage proposal? 

The Women’s March in Riverside, California was filled with people marching for equality, and equality was celebrated when two women at the march got engaged. Riverside March Organizer Lissa Stapleton used her time on the microphone not only to welcome marchers and discuss equal rights, but as a platform for her marriage proposal to March co-coordinator, and girlfriend of three years, Marecela Ramirez.

“Stapleton, a professor at Cal State Northridge, explained how she worked out the surprise proposal with the help of the other organizers from the Riverside Women’s March. ‘There was a lot of coordinating. I went to the planning team meeting on [Marcela’s] behalf and it was the perfect opportunity.’ Ramirez added that Stapleton was ‘totally in cahoots’ with her fellow organizers, and she had no idea,” according to an interview with Cosmopolitan.

The couple’s proposal was captured on video, showcasing not only the love Stapleton and Ramirez have for one another, but the love that the community had for them.