Gay Couple Marries In TX After License Issued Despite Ban
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
AUSTIN, Texas (1080 KRLD) - Two Austin women were married this morning after a Travis County judge ordered the county clerk to issue a marriage license.
The couple married despite a statewide gay marriage ban.
Read More: Same-Sex Marriage In Texas
According to the Austin American Statesman, Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant said their vows before Rabbi Kerry Baker while standing in front of the Travis County Clerk's Office sign on Airport Boulevard.
The couple has been together for over 30 years.
"We want to open the door for all LGBT families to have the right to marry in Texas," said Suzanne Bryant, local attorney and 30-year partner of Sarah Goodfriend. "We were both born in Texas, came back to Texas after we met to build a family and establish our lives here. We plan to die here, and we have waited to get married because, as proud Texans, we want a Texas marriage license."
Poll: Should Same-Sex Marriage Be Legal In Texas?
Questions are already circulating whether the marriage is technically legal in spite of the issuance of the license and a Tweet from the TX Democrat Party claiming that fact.
[tweet https://twitter.com/TXDemParty/status/568444858886541312]
Goodfriend and Bryant petitioned Travis County District Judge David Wahlberg to get them a marriage license. The state had denied them a license in the same office building eight years ago.
The order signed by Judge Wahlberg also waived the seventy-two hour waiting period between the issuance of a marriage license and the ability to be married.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the Texas Supreme Court to overturn a Travis County Probate judge's ruling that the Texas' ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional.
*This is a developing story. Listen to 1080 KRLD for the latest information.
(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)