UPDATE:
Beneath a United States and a Indiana state flag, two women stood among the noises of construction and traffic. After 14 years of waiting, Joyce and Jennifer Smith became a legally married couple.
The two women exchanged vows, adding their names to the growing number of couples rushing to marry after a federal judge struck down Indiana’s same-sex marriage ban Wednesday.
“I never thought this would happen,” Joyce Smith said. “It’s a long time coming.”
The couple tied the knot just a few steps from the Delaware County Building where more than 15 same-sex couples received their licenses.
Joyce Smith said she got online during lunch at work today and found out same-sex marriage was legal for Hoosiers.
She immediately called Jennifer Smith to tell her the news. It wasn’t even a question of whether they should get married today.
After she hung up, Jennifer Smith began calling friends and relatives to tell them the news.
Meanwhile, Joyce Smith talked to her boss, an ordained minister, who not only let her off work early but also agreed to officiate the ceremony.
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| Joyce and Jennifer Smith celebrate after their marriage ceremony outside of the Delaware County Building. The Smiths were one of many same-sex couples who received their marriage licenses June 26. The Delaware County Clerk's Office issued licenses for the first time to same-sex couples that day. DN PHOTO CHRISTOPHER STEPHENS |
As the couple gave their vows and shared their first kiss as a married couple, a few onlookers and county workers walked up to the Smiths to wish them good luck in the face of a lifetime commitment with the federal ruling’s shaky future.
Although some may consider the wedding a milestone and some could argue that it isn’t, Joyce Smith said their union is just like any other heterosexual couple’s – it is all about love.
Several other couples made the trip downtown to sign the papers while they had the chance.
Angie Bartman, a Ball State alumna, and her wife, Kim Cox, heard same-sex marriage was legal at 10 this morning when one of their children texted them, saying they could get married.
They began planning the wedding immediately. Four hours later, they were putting the final signatures on their marriage certificate and had ceremony planned for 3 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Muncie.
“I thought Indiana would be the last state [to legalize same-sex marriage],” Bartman said with a small smile growing on her face. “And I would be long dead.”
The rush to marry had a lot to do with their love, but the couple also wanted to make sure they were married before the chance was taken away with a potential stay during the appeals process.
“We need to do it while we have the opportunity to do it before it gets taken away,” Cox said.
The two have been together for 20 years and had a commitment ceremony in January 1995, the closest thing they could get to a marriage at the time.
“Now it is all going to be real,” Bartman said.
They have children and grandchildren who have supported their marriage even before it was legal.
“We call each other wife; my kids call her their stepmom,” Bartman said.
She said she couldn’t ask for more in her blessed life.
“But this is the more – we are very blessed,” she said.
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| Natasha Martz, Heather Dobbs, Jathan Coker and Jeremy Phatterson hold their marriage licenses after receiving them from the Delaware County Clerk's Office. The two couples rushed June 26 to beat a potential stay that could stop same-sex marriages across the state for the appeal process. DN PHOTO CHRISTOPHER STEPHENS |
EARLIER:
The Delaware County Clerk’s Office has issued about 10 same-sex marriage licenses today after receiving official word from the state this morning.
“It’s a piece of paper, but it’s equality,” Jathan Coker of Muncie said while gripping his new spouse’s hand in excitement.
People lined up early to receive their licenses, several making sure they get the official documents before a potential stay of the ruling could put a stop to same-sex marriages until the completion of an appeals process.
“This way we are in; we are done,” Coker said.
Coker and Jeremy Phatterson were among the first couples to receive licenses.
Natasha Martz and Heather Dobbs rushed over early this morning after their third-shift jobs ended.
“We wanted to make sure we got here before we crashed,” Martz said.
Martz said the couple had originally planned to marry in August 2015, hoping that it would be legal by then. When they heard Wednesday’s news, their plans got pushed forward. They still plan to have a larger ceremony.
The area outside the office was full with people waiting to be married in the morning hours, but computer problems slowed down the process, said Shonna Smith, deputy clerk.
As a smile crept across her face, she explained how several couples had already returned to the office to show off their licenses after a quick ceremony made the marriage official.
The Delaware County Clerk's Office hasn't hosted ceremonies inside of the office since May 18, 2011, because of budget cutbacks. However, some employees will offer to do the ceremony outside of the office after hours starting at 4 p.m.
Smith, who is ordained to proceed over weddings outside the office, said she has given out her phone number to several couples to officiate their marriages.
While the state's attorney general's office filed a request for an emergency stay late Wednesday, it hasn't received a decision. As long as one doesn’t come down, Martz expects the county clerk’s office to stay busy.
“There are a lot of couples that are [ready to marry],” she said. “There are going to be many more to come.”
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| Couples fill out paperwork for their marriage licenses at the Delaware County Clerk's Office. The office began accepting same-sex couples' applications June 26 after getting word from the state. DN PHOTO CHRISTOPHER STEPHENS |
Related articles:
- U.S. judge strikes down Indiana ban, same-sex couples can marry
- Marriage equality becomes reality for Hoosiers
- HOWE ABOUT THAT: Don’t get too excited about Indiana’s marriage equality
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