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Only 40 Gay Couples Apply To Be Married In SD In First Month

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Forty gay couples have applied to be married in South Dakota during the first month following the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing such unions across the country.

The state Department of Health provided The Associated Press with data detailing marriage licenses issued across the state from June 26 to July 27. Overall, gay couples in South Dakota make up less than 5 percent of all the couples that applied for licenses during that period.

In Pennington County, which includes Rapid City, there were 20 issued; in Minnehaha County, which includes Sioux Falls, there were five. All other counties issued no more than three licenses.

Advocates say the numbers are promising and reflective of the state’s LGBT community but also the barriers its members still face in South Dakota.