Utah couples married Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review same-sex marriage cases from states. “We just had to jump, like lets go. Today’s the day.”
Gregory Enke and Ariel Ulloa celebrate after getting married at the Salt Lake County clerk's office Monday.
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
The two men — who were among a handful of couples who showed up at the Salt Lake County Courthouse in the wake of Monday's same-sex marriage decision by the U.S. Supreme Court — were ecstatic. After filling out their paperwork, they moved to a nearby hallway where Utah State Senator Jim Dabakis performed their ceremony. As Dabakis pronounced them officially married, Ulloa and Enke hugged. They kissed. And as the whir of cameras nearly drowned out their soft laughter, they thrust their bouquets of roses triumphantly into the air.
Afterward, the men praised the return of same-sex marriage to Utah and spoke to reporters about their feelings:
The lines were short and the crowds small Monday, but for much of the day there were at least one or two couples at the county clerk's office, filling out paperwork or grabbing one of several clergy members who showed up to perform marriages.
The scene was a dramatic contrast from late last year, when hundreds of couples lined up for hours after a judge ruled on Dec. 20 that Utah's same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional. The ruling opened a brief window for same-sex couples to marry, but that window closed when Utah successfully petitioned to put the marriages on hold while the case worked its way through the courts.
Monday in Salt Lake City, Dabakis told BuzzFeed News he thought same-sex marriages in the state were there to stay. He also recalled his own marriage, which took place during the brief window in December, and said that it changed his relationship with his husband:
from BuzzFeed - Breaking http://ift.tt/1vIQ2kX
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