Historic day as same-sex couples receive marriage licenses
SEATTLE (AP) - Two by two, dozens of same-sex couples obtained their marriage licenses in Washington state early Thursday, just hours after Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a voter-approved law legalizing gay marriage.
King County, the state's biggest county, opened the doors to its auditor's office in Seattle just after midnight PST to start distributing marriage licenses. But hundreds of people had lined up hours earlier, snaking around the downtown Seattle building on a chilly December night. By noon, nearly 400 licenses had been issued in Seattle.
"We knew it was going to happen, but it's still surreal," said Amanda Dollente, who along with her partner, Kelly Middleton, began standing in line at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Washington state now joins several other states that allow gay and lesbian couples to wed. Gregoire and Secretary of State Sam Reed certified the election on Wednesday afternoon, as they were joined by couples who plan to wed and community activists who worked on the campaign supporting gay marriage.
Because the state has a three-day waiting period, the earliest that weddings can take place is Sunday. Same-sex couples who previously were married in another state that allows gay marriage, like Massachusetts, will not have to get remarried in Washington state. Their marriages will be valid here as soon as the law takes effect.
"This is a very important and historic day in the great state of Washington," Gregoire said before signing the measure that officially certified the election results. "For many years now we've said one more step, one more step. And this is our last step for marriage equality in the state of Washington."
Last month, Washington, Maine and Maryland became the first states to pass same-sex marriage by popular vote. They joined six other states - New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont - and the District of Columbia that had already enacted laws or issued court rulings permitting same-sex marriage.
Referendum 74 in Washington state had asked voters to either approve or reject the state law legalizing same-sex marriage that legislators passed earlier this year. That law was signed by Gregoire in February but was put on hold pending the outcome of the election. Nearly 54 percent of voters approved the measure.
The law doesn't require religious organizations or churches to perform marriages, and it doesn't subject churches to penalties if they don't marry gay or lesbian couples.
King County, the state's largest and home to Seattle, and Thurston County, home to the state capital of Olympia, opened at 12:01 a.m. Thursday to start issuing marriage licenses. While King County stayed open all night, Thurston opened briefly to issue licenses to 15 couples who had entered a lottery, then closed and reopened at 7 a.m.
Pierce County opened its doors at 6:30 a.m., Clark and Island counties started issuing licenses at 8 a.m. and other counties were holding regular business hours.
Asked whether the middle-of-the-night marriage license roll-out was necessary, King County Executive Dow Constantine said, "People who have been waiting all these years to have their rights recognized should not have to wait one minute longer."
In Seattle, the mood was festive. Volunteers distributed roses, coffee and fruit. Couples canoodled to keep warm. Champagne was poured. Different groups of men and women serenaded the waiting line, one to the tune of "Going to the Chapel."
"We waited a long time. We've been together 35 years, never thinking we'd get a legal marriage. Now I feel so joyous I can't hardly stand it," said 85-year-old Pete-e Petersen, who with her partner, 77-year-old Jane Abbott Lighty, were the first to get a license.
After meeting 35 years ago on a blind date in Sacramento, Lighty and Petersen will get married on Sunday. The couple has been out buying shoes and clothes for their wedding.
At the Thurston County courthouse on Thursday morning, Deb Dulaney, 54, and Diane McGee, 64, both of Olympia, arrived just before 9 a.m. The couple has been together for 16 years, and they moved to Washington state in 2005 from California, where they were registered as domestic partners.
McGee said they wanted to get married there but were unable to before voters passed 2008's Proposition 8, the amendment that outlawed gay marriage after it had been approved by court ruling. A federal court has since struck down Prop. 8, but an appeal on that case is still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dulaney and McGee registered as domestic partners in Seattle in 2005, and then through the state when the state's domestic partnership law passed in 2007. Now they wanted to take that final step of marriage, even though they plan on moving back to California in the coming months to be closer to family. They haven't set a wedding date but said a simple service is planned within the 60 days that their license is valid.
"I feel much more moved by it than I thought I would," Dulaney said. "I thought we were just going to come here, get the paperwork and go home. But now, it's like, 'whoa.'"
"It's for real now," McGee told her.
Maryland's law officially takes effect Jan. 1, however couples can start picking up marriage licenses on Thursday, as long as the license has an effective date of Jan. 1. Whether clerks of court issue a postdated license is up to them, however. They are not required to do so. Maine's law takes effect on Dec. 29. There's no waiting period in Maine, and people can start marrying just after midnight.
In addition to private ceremonies that will start taking place across Washington state this weekend, Seattle City Hall will open for several hours on Sunday, and several local judges are donating their time to marry couples. Aaron Pickus, a spokesman for Mayor Mike McGinn, said that more than 140 couples have registered to get married at City Hall, and weddings will begin at 10 a.m. In Olympia, a group of local judges has offered to perform wedding ceremonies just after midnight on Sunday at the Thurston County courthouse.
Washington state has had a domestic partnership law in place since 2007. The initial law granted couples about two dozen rights, including hospital visitation and inheritance rights when there is no will. It was expanded a year later, and then again in 2009, when lawmakers completed the package with the so-called "everything but marriage" law that was ultimately upheld by voters later that year.
This year, lawmakers passed the law allowing gay marriage, and Gregoire signed it in February. Opponents gathered enough signatures for a referendum, putting the law on hold before it could take effect.
There are nearly 10,000 domestic partnership registrations with the secretary of state's office. Most same-sex domestic partnerships that aren't ended prior to June 30, 2014, automatically become marriages, unless one of the partners is 62 or older.
That provision was included in the state's first domestic partnership law of 2007 to help heterosexual seniors who don't remarry out of fear they could lose certain pension or Social Security benefits.
Among those getting marriage licenses Thursday was gay rights activist Dan Savage, who will marry his partner Sunday with other couples at Seattle City Hall.
"It's been a long fight but it ain't over," he said. "We still have to fight (the Defense of Marriage Act) and there's 41 other states where same-sex couples aren't allowed to marry."
King County, the state's biggest county, opened the doors to its auditor's office in Seattle just after midnight PST to start distributing marriage licenses. But hundreds of people had lined up hours earlier, snaking around the downtown Seattle building on a chilly December night. By noon, nearly 400 licenses had been issued in Seattle.
"We knew it was going to happen, but it's still surreal," said Amanda Dollente, who along with her partner, Kelly Middleton, began standing in line at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Washington state now joins several other states that allow gay and lesbian couples to wed. Gregoire and Secretary of State Sam Reed certified the election on Wednesday afternoon, as they were joined by couples who plan to wed and community activists who worked on the campaign supporting gay marriage.
Because the state has a three-day waiting period, the earliest that weddings can take place is Sunday. Same-sex couples who previously were married in another state that allows gay marriage, like Massachusetts, will not have to get remarried in Washington state. Their marriages will be valid here as soon as the law takes effect.
"This is a very important and historic day in the great state of Washington," Gregoire said before signing the measure that officially certified the election results. "For many years now we've said one more step, one more step. And this is our last step for marriage equality in the state of Washington."
Last month, Washington, Maine and Maryland became the first states to pass same-sex marriage by popular vote. They joined six other states - New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont - and the District of Columbia that had already enacted laws or issued court rulings permitting same-sex marriage.
Referendum 74 in Washington state had asked voters to either approve or reject the state law legalizing same-sex marriage that legislators passed earlier this year. That law was signed by Gregoire in February but was put on hold pending the outcome of the election. Nearly 54 percent of voters approved the measure.
The law doesn't require religious organizations or churches to perform marriages, and it doesn't subject churches to penalties if they don't marry gay or lesbian couples.
King County, the state's largest and home to Seattle, and Thurston County, home to the state capital of Olympia, opened at 12:01 a.m. Thursday to start issuing marriage licenses. While King County stayed open all night, Thurston opened briefly to issue licenses to 15 couples who had entered a lottery, then closed and reopened at 7 a.m.
Pierce County opened its doors at 6:30 a.m., Clark and Island counties started issuing licenses at 8 a.m. and other counties were holding regular business hours.
Asked whether the middle-of-the-night marriage license roll-out was necessary, King County Executive Dow Constantine said, "People who have been waiting all these years to have their rights recognized should not have to wait one minute longer."
In Seattle, the mood was festive. Volunteers distributed roses, coffee and fruit. Couples canoodled to keep warm. Champagne was poured. Different groups of men and women serenaded the waiting line, one to the tune of "Going to the Chapel."
"We waited a long time. We've been together 35 years, never thinking we'd get a legal marriage. Now I feel so joyous I can't hardly stand it," said 85-year-old Pete-e Petersen, who with her partner, 77-year-old Jane Abbott Lighty, were the first to get a license.
After meeting 35 years ago on a blind date in Sacramento, Lighty and Petersen will get married on Sunday. The couple has been out buying shoes and clothes for their wedding.
At the Thurston County courthouse on Thursday morning, Deb Dulaney, 54, and Diane McGee, 64, both of Olympia, arrived just before 9 a.m. The couple has been together for 16 years, and they moved to Washington state in 2005 from California, where they were registered as domestic partners.
McGee said they wanted to get married there but were unable to before voters passed 2008's Proposition 8, the amendment that outlawed gay marriage after it had been approved by court ruling. A federal court has since struck down Prop. 8, but an appeal on that case is still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dulaney and McGee registered as domestic partners in Seattle in 2005, and then through the state when the state's domestic partnership law passed in 2007. Now they wanted to take that final step of marriage, even though they plan on moving back to California in the coming months to be closer to family. They haven't set a wedding date but said a simple service is planned within the 60 days that their license is valid.
"I feel much more moved by it than I thought I would," Dulaney said. "I thought we were just going to come here, get the paperwork and go home. But now, it's like, 'whoa.'"
"It's for real now," McGee told her.
Maryland's law officially takes effect Jan. 1, however couples can start picking up marriage licenses on Thursday, as long as the license has an effective date of Jan. 1. Whether clerks of court issue a postdated license is up to them, however. They are not required to do so. Maine's law takes effect on Dec. 29. There's no waiting period in Maine, and people can start marrying just after midnight.
In addition to private ceremonies that will start taking place across Washington state this weekend, Seattle City Hall will open for several hours on Sunday, and several local judges are donating their time to marry couples. Aaron Pickus, a spokesman for Mayor Mike McGinn, said that more than 140 couples have registered to get married at City Hall, and weddings will begin at 10 a.m. In Olympia, a group of local judges has offered to perform wedding ceremonies just after midnight on Sunday at the Thurston County courthouse.
Washington state has had a domestic partnership law in place since 2007. The initial law granted couples about two dozen rights, including hospital visitation and inheritance rights when there is no will. It was expanded a year later, and then again in 2009, when lawmakers completed the package with the so-called "everything but marriage" law that was ultimately upheld by voters later that year.
This year, lawmakers passed the law allowing gay marriage, and Gregoire signed it in February. Opponents gathered enough signatures for a referendum, putting the law on hold before it could take effect.
There are nearly 10,000 domestic partnership registrations with the secretary of state's office. Most same-sex domestic partnerships that aren't ended prior to June 30, 2014, automatically become marriages, unless one of the partners is 62 or older.
That provision was included in the state's first domestic partnership law of 2007 to help heterosexual seniors who don't remarry out of fear they could lose certain pension or Social Security benefits.
Among those getting marriage licenses Thursday was gay rights activist Dan Savage, who will marry his partner Sunday with other couples at Seattle City Hall.
"It's been a long fight but it ain't over," he said. "We still have to fight (the Defense of Marriage Act) and there's 41 other states where same-sex couples aren't allowed to marry."
Why are most lesbians so homely? Stocky and mannish, you might say. I'm guessing they're really heterosexuals who gave up trying to attract someone of the opposite sex and just settled.
Well Washington this is what was passed. We have to live with it.
Let me start off by saying I don't discriminate against race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. As far as gay marriage is concerned, it is something I was against. This comes from the way I was raised, my faith, and my opinions. Marriage is known as an agreement between a man and a woman to be together with legal commitments, and there is a husband and a wife. I guess with this new law passing, marriage is now known as two human beings tied together through legal commitments. This is very hard for me to accept but it is what it is.
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@Koreanman012 It is only the Governments defenition and they are not known to have high morals. Nothing has really changed other than the same sex couples are trying to make it more socially acceptable but it is still the same old rule. We will all be accountable for our actions some day after we die. they allready had all the perks they just want it to sound better.
 @Koreanman012 Even if marriage is now known to include same-sex relationships that does not mean those relationships are exactly the same thing as a traditional marriage.  Marriage between a man and woman can still be a unique human relationship with unique contributions to the public good.  As I've said before, if the government calls a hand a foot it doesn't make it so.
 @Koreanman012 That's the legal/ government definition.  However, the act of marriage has been around long before that.  Marriage is a union of two souls before deity.  A soul is gender-less.  The only reason it has come up legally is because of survivor rights and taxes.  I don't believe marriage should be a legal issue at all, but one of faith and commitment.
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 @Koreanman012 if you are against it...then yes you do discriminate. don't sugar coat it
@elaang @Koreanman012 Your pathetic.
 @elaang Everyone discriminates, including you.  The question is whether or not it is justified or unjustified.
Why is it when the the media runs a hyper congratulatory article about gay marriage it is always accompanied by a picture of two old chicks?
 @lin Hmmmm. I don't know. If I were a critical thinker, however, WHICH I AM NOT BECAUSE I AM LIKE EVERY OTHER TROLL ON THIS COMMENT BOARD--NO, I MEAN it. I am not a thinker--I would say that these two beautiful, lovely women represent just how unfair it is to deny citizens equal rights because you find them to be unsavory "old chicks." I can't believe that any of you people can see a story like Pete-e and Jane's and not find them to be the very epitome of commitment and love and respect, two people who have and will continue to honor the very essence of what marriage is supposed to be. In a world where straight people have made an absolute mockery of marriage, I believe that these two pillars of our community are being held up as beacons in order to teach the rest of the world an important lesson about tolerance, acceptance, love, and commitment.
 @horseknuckle Dammmm, come down off your soapbox now, take your meds, this whole crisis is over, you won, please, move on,  there are more important things in this world than who you think has the most essence in a marriage.............Gawd..give it a rest already...
 @lin because two old men are just ugly
 @elaang  @lin Shame on you. I would think that someone who uses the HRC logo as an avatar (probably without permission) would refrain from denigrating it by being so intolerant. Love is love, no matter the demographic. Old and wise and lasting, like the "old chicks" or "old, ugly men" that you insult, or young and stupid and foolhardy, like those who would publish such nonsense on a day like today, when most of those who are exercising their long-awaited rights are old enough to be your parents.
 @horseknuckle  @elaang  @lin elaang was being flippant. You know, drawing attention to how silly the original comment was?
It is a shame that people had to get the permission of the state- it is no body's business. It is a contract that, like other contracts, can be recorded in the county recorder's office. Government is NOT a party to it.
@contraryjim It is not about permission but changing a defenition to make people feel better about what they are doing. I has been done long before soddom and gerorah without permision. Let's change the defenition of fat to make obesity sound better also. You still don't need permission for that either but call it what it is people.
 @Astinious  @contraryjim Why is every new/low post count poster on this issue suffering from the same inability to form a sentence, spell and punctuate?  It's a curious thing.
What sweet ladies, I wish them all the happiness they can have. To all you that benefit from this new law and have chosen to marry, congratulations and I wish you a lifetime of health, happiness and prosperity. I wish you the strength to get through the tough times and the patience to support each other. Congratulations.
excellent article!
http://www.faithfacts.org/christ-and-the-culture/gay-rights
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 @theroadtolifeisnarrow This is an excellent article in that it pulls from many different sources, not just religion, it is factual reading, thank you for posting it, and I hope others read it in it's entirety.
 @theroadtolifeisnarrow That's rich. Using the words "Faith Facts" together like that is like using the words "True-Fiction" together.
 @horseknuckle Your assertion doesn't really prove anything.
As a DINK I plan on making my marriage a big revenue for the state and county. My partner and I (as we are not married yet) are planning our wedding and honeymoon before getting our license. For those of you that don't know what a DINK is: Dual Income No Kids...we have disposable income like most of our gay counterparts. We will pump lots of money into the economy by using a local florist, bakery, ceremony site, and of course the honeymoon.
 @elaang Not to wish you poorly, here are the facts. You will face them. I think this blog needs some perspective on why this will never work and why it is wrong and always will be.
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This may be law, but never will be marriage. This was defined by the Creator Himself.
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The fact you do not see consequences immediately for your lifestyle, in your understanding of time is totally meaningless.  The one who created time will have His day and all of us will have to make account for every action and word. Those we repent of He will not ask about, as He said your forgiveness is as far as the east is from the west, if you repent.
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Your lifestyle choice is just that. To be treated like it is a wonderful thing could not be farther from the truth. It is perversion and you may not dance around that. You cannot create children nor was it meant to be. It is a great way to get very sick, make people bitter and empty.
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Problem is, unless you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, you will not ever, ever understand. The Bible clearly states homosexuality is a penalty for sin upon those who reject Christ. He turns people over to perversion and celebration of all that is vile. This is due to the fact He can see your heart and that He cares enough about you to allow you to have free will.Â
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Your will is to reject Him and the truth. This is a eternal mistake. I know many people who have come out of the perverted life style that accepted Christ. He healed them and removed the sin.
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Enjoy your time. The law says you may be married and we must respect that. However, the ultimate authority will not. You are no victim by any measure and this is not a civil rights issue.
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As the Bible states:Â
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"Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creatorâwho is forever praised. Amen.
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know Godâs righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."
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May you find Him. At death, it will be much too late and it does not end. Eternity begins.
@pbs7mm Great post. If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; Leviticus 20:13
 @Birdsvieman  @pbs7mm Great, now reference the rest of Leviticus and empty your house of shellfish and mixed fibers.
 @pbs7mm  @elaang It's kind of funny when you say "facts" and then refer to the bible.
 @pbs7mm  @elaang TL;DR
 @TehHawt  @pbs7mm got tacos to eat and programs to watch...hopefully New Normal is on the DVR
 @TehHawt  @pbs7mm ohhh...no worries
 @elaang  @pbs7mm I responded directly with the Too Long Didn't Read to pbs7mm, but the commenting saw fit to respond to you.
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 @TehHawt  @pbs7mm huh?
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 @pbs7mm I would continue in this conversation...but I have a life...you know. Home from work, partner home from work...want to eat dinner and have polite conversation and watch some tv before bedtime to start the day over again tomorrow...sound familar?
 @pbs7mm  @elaang I hope you don't eat pork of shellfish. It's an abomination before the Lord.
not @Howard Beale  @pbs7mm not to mention a women being on her period going into a church to pray
@pbs7mm @elaang and what if you are not Christian?
@pbs7mm @elaang I believe that God wants us to be good people. I doubt he cares on iota if you are gay or straight. Remember, the bible and all other religious texts were writen by man. Man is imperfect, flawed and prone to bias.
 @pbs7mm  @DeadRabitz this is to pbs7mm I don't know who your creator is ....but I respect everyone and I would expect the same. Not everyone believes in your god or the effect it has on our government which it should not...Separation of church and state should be still in effect. If my marriage offends you...then yours does me too. I get so sick of seeing hetero couples lip locked in public but that's ok because they are straight. But if I want to hold my partners hand in public...oooohhh that's wrong. Go take your hate somewhere else.
 @elaang  @DeadRabitz  @pbs7mm Good thing is it opened up some debate. And no, I don't hate anybody especially elaang or otherwise. Just stating the other side. Both need to respect one another. Like I said, we will honor the law. Just in the Creator's eyes, it is not marriage. So there it is and that is all. It was stated, and you can deal with it either now or later. Whatever.Â
@elaang @pbs7mm I wasn't referring to you. I was talking to pbs7mm.
 @DeadRabitz  @pbs7mm  @elaang never said I was Christain
 @pbs7mm  @elaang well since you are big on the bible did you marry someone as a child and did you take multiple wives? and if you have kids did you "spare the rod and spoil the child?" or did you stone them for disrespecting you? Also, which book of the bible are you? since you know that there is more then one book or should i say books that make the bible? and as far as god is concerned i have renounced my faith when the so called man of god said that god told him that he needs a caddy.
 @pbs7mm  @elaang A creator is created by each individual if he/she desires to do so. A creator is in the eye of the beholder. Believing does not make it so.
@pbs7mm now focus on the parts about being a hypocrite and go look in a mirror.
 @pbs7mm long post with a lot of BLAH
 @SusieQ Calling hate or arrogance doesn't prove a thing.
 @pbs7mm  @elaang No hate. Just arrogance.
 @pbs7mm  @elaang well you can be accountable to whatever higher power you need to bow down to...me...I will live my life as I please. If that offends you then so be it..and yes, my tacos were good
 @elaang Hatred is not even on the plate. Never was. This is the typical fallback. If someone does not agree, they are haters. Bull. I will defend your right to live as you please. Just saying we must answer to a higher authority later. Maybe this will help folks understand, why many of us did not support the law. However, we are held to account to obey the laws and will. Final score is not mine, nor do I have any control over it. I am however held to account to share, so I did. May you have a wonderful evening and enjoy those tacos elaang. No hate on this side. Hopefully none on yours.
 @pbs7mm I don't believe in your god. I have made my own life with no outside help. I have fought this fight while everyone else fights against me. You have no excuse but biogtry and hatred
 @elaang That is truly unfortunate and quite clear. I do wish you the best and you clearly know what you are doing, so it goes. Long life and health. I did not make the rules, so take it up with God.  Later. At least some folks will read this and have no excuses. Once you know, that is all that needs to happen.
 @pbs7mm I don't believe in your god...
 @pbs7mm  @elaang and also, please explain why the holy days fall on the same days as the pagan holy days? oh, thats right to make them convert easier. why do you think the celtic cross as the circle behind it? for the sun god of the celts.
 @pbs7mm  @elaang i stopped after the first line of same old b.s. from a so called man of god.
 @elaang Try to read it over be full of yourself then.Â