Anticlimatic, I know, but same-sex couples in the reddest part of California tied the knot today with virtually no opposition despite the efforts of the Kern County Clerk.
There was some question as to whether locals, in support of clerk Ann Barnett, would protest the weddings outside the courthouse. "Outside," because Barnett had shut down ALL civil marriages performed by her office, ostensibly because of budget constraints but coincidentally just before the first same-sex unions would have been performed.
Local volunteers and ministers took up the challenge and weddings went on as scheduled. The sole protester, a Hispanic woman with a Spanish-language sign, apparently left shortly after beginning her protest, when police officers restricted her to the sidewalk.
Pictures of some of the happy couples here:
http://www.bakersfield.com/...