Subscribe
The Daily Grind Video
CLOSE

Just days after voter-approved initiatives allowed same-sex couples to register for marriage licenses in Seattle, WA, revelers crowded at City Hall to witness 133 weddings; marking the first day same-sex couples could marry in the state.

DETAILS: It’s A Celebration B*tches! Weed and Gay Weddings Feted In Washington

According to Reuters:

Washington’s law went into effect on Thursday, when hundreds of eager couples lined up to apply for marriage licenses. The first legal same-sex weddings began on Sunday after a three-day waiting period required of all marriages expired.

King County – which includes Seattle and its suburbs – said it issued 623 marriage licenses in the three days after Thursday. Weddings took place across the state on Sunday.

More than 300 people stood in the rain and cold to cheer on the newlywed couples, throwing rice and blowing bubbles to signify well wishes and celebration. Donning tuxedos and bowties, dresses and jeans, same-sex couples from all walks of life talked to reporters about the significance of the decision to allow them to wed. 

DETAILS: Not So Fast! White House Considers Legal Action Against Weed States

Former gallery owner Stuart Wilber, 74, and long-time partner John Breitweiser, 64, wore tuxedos, white shirts and red bow ties.

The wedding was “a step toward federal equality,” said Wilber, sporting a silver earring and snakeskin-patterned tennis shoes. “The younger generation doesn’t understand what a big deal this is.”

The couple, who met in Chicago’s Broadway Limited bar, were also celebrating the first day of their 36th year together.

“We’ve worked together for this for a long time,” Breitweiser said. “We expect this from our country. We should be treated equally. In many respects, our fight still goes on.”

The move doesn’t come without dissent, however. 

Thirty-one U.S. states have passed constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage, while Washington, D.C. and nine states have legalized it, including the three that did so on Election Day last month.

A Pew Research Center survey from October found 49 percent of Americans favored allowing gay marriage and 40 percent opposed. In May, President Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to say same-sex couples should be able to wed.

As gays and lesbians prepared for their nuptials in Washington state, the U.S. Supreme Court stepped into the fray over gay marriage on Friday by agreeing to review two challenges to federal and state laws that define marriage as between a man and a woman.

We all know how Seattle weather can be, so here’s hoping that nobody rains on this parade. Mazel Tov!! 

SOURCE/PHOTO CREDIT: Reuters