Heroes of the week

Diana Bijon and Mike Buday.

On the marriage license application, which now costs $70 to file in L.A. County, Bijon could simply fill in her last name or her soon-to-be husband's last name.

But if Buday wanted to become a Bijon, he would have to get an order of the court to do so — and not before he had filed a petition, paid $320, advertised public notice of his intention to change his name for four weeks in a local newspaper and then appeared before a judge.

"It strikes both of us — especially me — that this is not on equal ground," said Buday, now married to Bijon for more than a year but reduced to still using his, well, maiden name. "This is about gender equality."

More power to them. It's always cool when men file lawsuits for gender equity that involves claiming a traditionally feminine 'privilege,' rather than in order to retain their manly rights or to undermine women's equality.

Best wishes to the Bijons for a long and happy marriage.