With the certification of
the passage of Referendum 74 earlier in the day,
marriage licenses were issued starting at 12:01am Thursday December 6th in the state of Washington, becoming the 8th state in the United States to do so (following Massachusetts, Iowa, California, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York). The marriage equality enactment order starts getting tricky, because California has not been able to issue any further marriage licences since November 2008. Couples in Washington can marry after a waiting period of 3 days following the issuance of a license. There are
some great pictures of same-sex couples (including
Dan Savage and his husband
Terry) lining up for marriage licences last night from
Joe Mirabella.
As of January 1st, 2013 there will be (at least) 9 states (and the District of Columbia) where same-sex couples can receive legal civil marriage licenses and get married. Maryland's marriage law, which was also subject to
a referendum which passed in the November 2012 elections, goes into effect on January 1st, 2013. Maine's marriage equality law,
which was enacted by an affirmative ballot initiative, will go into effect on December 29, 2012.
Depending on w
hat the United States Supreme Court decides to do with the pending appeal in the Hollingworth v Perry case striking down Proposition 8 California may become the 10th state to have legal marriage equality on January 1st 2013.
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