Upon hearing of the news, Michael Adam Ferguson and J. Seth Anderson rushed to the Salt Lake County Clerk's office on Friday and requested a legal and binding license to be married.
Likely the first same-sex couple to legally wed in the state of Utah, the couple's Facebook posts and tweets have seen an instantaneous and meteoric rise to digital fame.
"Our application for a marriage license was just accepted by the state of Utah," Ferguson wrote on his Facebook wall, with a picture being shared all over social media, including on popular marriage equality pages like Freedom to Marry.
Sure the news and talk show appearances are likely to follow, if a retweet from the Rachel Maddow Show is any indicator. But for the moment, the couple is united in matrimony, despite brief hesitation by the Salt Lake District Attorney, Sim Gill to hold off the ceremony before giving the final go-ahead, claiming it appeared on all counts to be the law of the land.
In a state many thought would be one of the final strongholds for the gay marriage ban, it's more than a surprise that Utah will now be known as the 18th state to recognize marriage for same sex couples.
Still far from the will of the electorate, Utah's arrival as the newest cool state on the block comes via the courts where a federal judge ruled, Friday, the ban to be unconstitutional. And while an appeal is likely in the works, and the ultimate marriage fate for the state remains to be seen, that doesn't stop J. Seth Anderson from tweeting a picture with the caption, "Me and my new husband!! My polygamous Mormon great grandparents would be so proud!" Fitting words for the state that also made headlines this week regarding the decriminalization of that other version of marriage, polygamy.
And the celebration reverberates among those Utah couples that sought legal marriage elsewhere. Among them, Jerry Rapier of Salt Lake City's Plan B Theater who tweeted: "U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby just struck down Utah's ban on same-sex marriage a few minutes ago. Amendment 3 is dead. Guess we better frame that New York marriage certificate!"
Since Friday, at least six counties in Utah have opened their doors, and held late hours to accommodate the long lines of couples seeking marriage certificates. Monday, in Davis County, north of Salt Lake City, saw straight couples handing out cupcakes to couples, reportedly saying everyone needs cake on their wedding day.
As for Utah, the owners of the Queens' Tea, a new loose-leaf tea company in Salt Lake, are more than just business partners, but as J. Seth Anderson tweeted, "Husband and husband."
Likely the first same-sex couple to legally wed in the state of Utah, the couple's Facebook posts and tweets have seen an instantaneous and meteoric rise to digital fame.
"Our application for a marriage license was just accepted by the state of Utah," Ferguson wrote on his Facebook wall, with a picture being shared all over social media, including on popular marriage equality pages like Freedom to Marry.
Sure the news and talk show appearances are likely to follow, if a retweet from the Rachel Maddow Show is any indicator. But for the moment, the couple is united in matrimony, despite brief hesitation by the Salt Lake District Attorney, Sim Gill to hold off the ceremony before giving the final go-ahead, claiming it appeared on all counts to be the law of the land.
The last 30 minutes of @jsethanderson is amazing pic.twitter.com/cEOYinxlxq Marriage equality comes to Utah
— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) December 20, 2013In a state many thought would be one of the final strongholds for the gay marriage ban, it's more than a surprise that Utah will now be known as the 18th state to recognize marriage for same sex couples.
Still far from the will of the electorate, Utah's arrival as the newest cool state on the block comes via the courts where a federal judge ruled, Friday, the ban to be unconstitutional. And while an appeal is likely in the works, and the ultimate marriage fate for the state remains to be seen, that doesn't stop J. Seth Anderson from tweeting a picture with the caption, "Me and my new husband!! My polygamous Mormon great grandparents would be so proud!" Fitting words for the state that also made headlines this week regarding the decriminalization of that other version of marriage, polygamy.
Me and my new husband!! My polygamous Mormon great grandparents would be so proud! pic.twitter.com/82xyh9GJoS
— Seth Anderson (@jsethanderson) December 20, 2013And the celebration reverberates among those Utah couples that sought legal marriage elsewhere. Among them, Jerry Rapier of Salt Lake City's Plan B Theater who tweeted: "U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby just struck down Utah's ban on same-sex marriage a few minutes ago. Amendment 3 is dead. Guess we better frame that New York marriage certificate!"
Since Friday, at least six counties in Utah have opened their doors, and held late hours to accommodate the long lines of couples seeking marriage certificates. Monday, in Davis County, north of Salt Lake City, saw straight couples handing out cupcakes to couples, reportedly saying everyone needs cake on their wedding day.
As for Utah, the owners of the Queens' Tea, a new loose-leaf tea company in Salt Lake, are more than just business partners, but as J. Seth Anderson tweeted, "Husband and husband."
Husband and husband....in Utah. :) pic.twitter.com/E91zhTj8MR
— Seth Anderson (@jsethanderson) December 20, 2013