Needless to say, this is a momentous day, and there are going to be many, many words written on this site on the subject of today's Supreme Court ruling. But I want to share one story that, well, hits me right in the feels.
Today, despite Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton's urging that county clerks wait to issue licenses, Dallas County began issuing licenses to same-sex couples. Many of these couples have waited a very long time to finally have the right to wed. Including one Dallas couple, in particular:
It was a long time coming for 82-year-old George Harris and 85-year-old Jack Evans. They have been together for 54 years. If their names sound familiar, you may remember this story about their church wedding last year, which was officiated by a United Methodist minister in defiance of the church's official stance on homosexuality. Now, over a year later, it is official. From the Dallas Morning News:
At 11:53 a.m., 82-year-old George Harris and 85-year-old Jack Evans became the first same-sex couple officially married in Dallas County. The ceremony was brief. Afterward, the courtroom filled with cheers.
“Everybody wins,” Evans said. “Nobody loses.”
Harris added, “Love wins.”
After the ceremony, Harris said, “I hope we can let the [Texas] conservatives see us and know we are not a danger to society.”
[...]
“We’re Texans and we wanted to honor our state, and why not?” Harris said. “We’ve been here and had a wonderful profession for 38 years and we didn’t want to leave. We had real confidence that someday it would happen. We had faith someday it would happen.”
Harris added:
Do we get a senior discount?
It's a wonderful day for love. While it is heartwrenching that this couple's relationship was not recognized by the state for 54 long years, it is incredible that they got their (
official) wedding day. I'm so happy for them and the rest of the couples marrying across Texas and the United States.
Meanwhile in Texas, AG Paxton is predictably crabby (to say the least), and Governor Greg Abbott appears prepared to make this about the "religious liberty" of clerks. As far as other major counties are concerned, gay couples are now marrying in Travis County (Austin) and in Bexar County (San Antonio), but last I heard, here in Harris County (Houston) couples are still waiting (EDIT: See Catte Nappe's comment below for more info). There may be some hiccups and delays, but we're getting our marriage equality, damnit. Deal with it, Texas Republicans.
For a good summary of what this ruling means to Texans, check out Burnt Orange Report.
UPDATE: Harris County will begin issuing marriage licenses at 3 PM, at the lastest. Also, from d3clark in the comments, check out this interactive map of Texas counties and their responses to the ruling.
