Same Sex Marriage Ban and Laws: Las Vegas Issues First Marriage Licenses to Gay Couples
For the first time in history, gay couples were allowed to legally wed in Las Vegas, Nevada, the marriage capital of the world.
On Tuesday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Nevada's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. The ruling, which legalized gay marriage in Nevada and Idaho, came one day after the U.S. Supreme Court decided to uphold lower court rulings that overturned bans in five states.
Subsequently, a district judge removed the final hurdle blocking same-sex marriage in the state on Thursday evening just hours after the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage withdrew its requests for a stay of the 9th Circuit decision.
According to officials, the county Marriage License Bureau were then free to issue 40 licenses to same-sex couples Thursday.
"It's amazing. This is it," Theo Small said after he and his partner, Antioco Carillo, received the first same-sex marriage license in Las Vegas, reports the Huffington Post.
Likewise, after spending the 25 years together, Ron Quinn and Ken Solis were overjoyed to receive their marriage license at the county clerk's office.
"Even though we could have been married in another state, this is our home," Quinn told Reuters. "It's one of those things. You know it's coming, and then it's here, and it's real. It really happened."
Shortly after obtaining their license in Las Vegas, State Sen. Kelvin Atkinson said, "I do," to his partner Sherwood Howard, making them the first gay couple to wed in the state.
Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval said the permanent injunction against Nevada's gay marriage prohibition would "bring finality to the issue" in the state.
Still, the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage issued a statement late Thursday, saying that the group plans to file further legal challenges backing the ban.
"Man-woman marriage is constitutional," said Todd Larkin, the president of the conservative group. "The coalition is confident that, in the end, the constitutionality of man-woman marriage will be upheld."
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!