U.S. gay couples prepare to wed on historic day as conservatives resist

Benjamin Moore and Tadd Roberts wore matching tuxedos to the county clerk’s office in Louisville to get married Friday, and the mayor greeted them with a bottle of champagne. They were among a rush of gay couples across the South and Midwest who celebrated the Supreme Court’s ruling legalizing same-sex marriage with spontaneous weddings. They were young and old, they wore gowns and suits or T-shirts and jeans, they kissed and waved flags that read “love wins.”

It’s just been incredible and historic and amazing to live this moment.

Benjamin Moore

But the reaction wasn’t as welcoming in some of the 14 states that had been the last holdouts against same-sex marriages, creating confusion as some officials embraced the ruling and others resisted it. In rural Alabama, the heart of the battle against gay marriage, Pike County Probate Judge Wes Allen said he would stop issuing all marriage licenses to avoid having to give them to gay couples. Allen said Alabama law gives judges the option of granting licenses, and “I have chosen not to perform that function." But by Friday afternoon, couples had received licenses in all but one of the 14 states, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

We waited so long. When it came through, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate, the decision and our love. All love is equal.

Jessica Dent of Alabama

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