Plaintiff couple Mercedes Santos and
Theresa Volpe were among the first to marry Friday in Chicago after a
federal judge ruled there was no need to wait for a marriage law
approved last year by lawmakers to take effect on June 1.
(Related: Cook
County, Illinois begins issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.)
The ruling, which only applies to Cook
County, was welcomed by County Clerk David Orr, who immediately
implemented it and began tweeting pictures of happy couples receiving
their marriage licenses.
The first couple was two men, followed
by a lesbian couple.
Santos and Volpe, plaintiffs in the
lawsuit, were third in line. They arrived with their two children, a
daughter and a son. Soon, Orr pronounced them married.
“Theresa and Mercedes, who I just
married, show off their rings,” he tweeted along with a photo of
the women displaying their rings to a media scrum.
“Justice is no longer denied,” Orr
messaged. “It is an honor to be part of this historic day.”
(Related: Chicago's
Rahm Emanuel applauds Cook County gay marriage ruling.)
It was uncertain how many couples would
attempt to marry on the ruling's first day – licenses are good for
60 days – but Orr promised to keep the downtown office open two
hours later than usual. The ACLU of Illinois has called on other
clerks to “abide by the ruling.”