Joy in Arkansas as same-sex couples wed

In the wake of Pulaski County (Arkansas) Circuit Judge Chris Piazza’s ruling on Friday, same-sex marriages were being performed in at least three counties in The Natural State. Licenses were issued Saturday in Eureka Springs, with weddings taking place immediately.

This morning, couples started lining up in Fayetteville, the county seat of Washington County, at 2:30am. County Clerk Becky Lewallen says 23 licenses were issued Monday morning to same-sex couples. Many couples immediately wed outside the courthouse after receiving the licenses.

In Little Rock, multiple weddings were occurring in the Pulaski County courthouse. Among those getting married in Little Rock was a Texas couple, who arrived at the county courthouse around 6:30am. Shelly Butler and Susan Barr are both Arkansas natives and had planned to marry this fall in New Mexico. The two first met in 1985 at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia. The have been together nearly 30 years. Because Butler is in a wheelchair, she and Barr were allowed to go to the front of the line.

Beverly Best and Ashley Mueller were among the couples who wed Monday. Julie Gerlinger, an ordained minister and notary public, performed the wedding ceremony in the courthouse rotunda. Best and Mueller exchanged rings during the brief ceremony and the crowd gathered in the rotunda erupted in cheers after Gerlinger said, "I now pronounce you wife and wife."

Many ministers offered to officiate ceremonies for free Monday. Photographer Eilish Palmer held a sign offering free photos for the couples. Palmer says she normally charges $1,000 for weddings but says she knew the couples coming Monday to Little Rock didn't have time to prepare for a ceremony or photos.

Thomas Baldwin and Devin Rudeseal of Bryant were also in line. They hoped to obtain their license quickly because Rudeseal has a 10:30am final exam at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he is studying massage therapy.

Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin said HRC asked the Department of Justice to recognize the unions. A similar move was extended to Utah couples who married before a gay-marriage ruling was put on hold.

Arkansas' attorney general has filed a notice that he would appeal a judge's ruling that paved the way for the same-sex marriage this weekend and on Monday. A lawyer for gay couples who sued for the right to obtain a marriage license in Arkansas said if the state's Supreme Court rules against them, they would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Compiled by The Gayly staff from Associated Press dispatches.

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The Gayly – May 12, 2014 @ 9:30am