Gay and lesbian couples in Kansas,
Nevada and West Virginia have received marriage licenses.
According to the AP, a gay couple on
Friday was issued a marriage license in Johnson County, Kansas' most
populous county, two days after district court Chief Judge Kevin
Moriarty ordered clerks and other judges to do so.
Chris Bostic and David Epp of
Charleston were the first gay couple to apply for a marriage license
on Thursday in Kanawha County, West Virginia. In Cabell County, two
couples, Justin Murdock and William Glavaris and Casie McGee and
Sarah Adkins, are credited with being the first to receive their
licenses to marry.
The marriage licenses were issued just
hours after West Virginia Attorney General Patrick
Morrisey announced his office would no longer defend the state's
ban in court.
Kansas and West Virginia are two of the
six states affected by the Supreme Court's refusal to hear appeals in
cases challenging bans in five states, thereby allowing appellate
court rulings striking down the bans to stand.
In Las Vegas, known as the marriage
capital of the world for its numerous wedding venues, gay couples
patiently waited in line at the Clark County clerk's office to hear
word they could marry.
The first couple, Theo Small and
Antioco Carillo, received their license to marry shortly after 5 PM.
“It's amazing. This is it,” Small
told the AP.
“We're walking on clouds. This is
unreal,” Carillo said.
But Kristy Best and Wednesday Smith
were the first gay couple to receive a license in Nevada. The women,
who plan to marry on Saturday, received their license at the Carson
City marriage office.
“We went to see what would happen,
and they gave us the license,” Best told the AP. “I feel
amazing. So happy. Love doesn't discriminate, so why should we?”
Nevada had been preparing for this day
since February, when Republican Governor Brian Sandoval announced the
state would no longer defend its ban in court. On Tuesday, the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco struck down bans in Idaho
and Nevada. A
Supreme Court mistake delayed implementation of the order by a day.