South Dakota Counties Begin Issuing Same-sex Licenses
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Officials in Rapid City issued a marriage license to two South Dakota women Friday just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples in America have the constitutional right to marry.
Though the high court set a three-week window for the losers to challenge its ruling, South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said counties could issue licenses as they wish. The state Department of Health announced Friday afternoon that it had updated its records and issued gender-neutral marriage licenses to counties, who were waiting for direction.
The two women, Melissa Eidson and Misty Collins, became the first same-sex couple in Pennington County and likely the state, according to Pennington County Register of Deeds Donna Mayer.
“When we were calling the state, they said we were the guinea pigs,” Mayer said. “That tells me that we were the first ones.”
Mayer said the two women came to the office in Rapid City on Friday asking for a marriage license and she called state officials in Pierre, who instructed her how to issue the license with a hastily modified form using terms such as “Spouse A” and “Spouse B.”
The Department of Health announced later that same-sex couples now can request marriage licenses at any county register of deeds office in the state. She said the state’s system is also able to issue certified copies that can be used for legal purpose, such as getting a driver’s licenses.
Gay men and women in South Dakota were elated and gay rights groups announced plans to hold celebrations in Sioux Falls and Rapid City.
Bob Weldland, an art education coordinator in Sioux Falls, said his partner proposed to him Friday for a second time. The two are not yet legally married but they held a ceremony at a church in Minnesota in 2010 and Weldland refers to his partner as his husband.
“He texted me, ‘So, do you want to marry me again?'” he said.
Weldland and his partner plan to renew their vows among friends and family this August and marry according to “government standards, and not just by God.”
South Dakota’s congressional delegation decried the Supreme Court’s decision Friday. U.S. Sens. John Thune and Mike Rounds and U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem said they all believe a marriage should be between a man and a woman.
“Today’s ruling is a blow to state’s rights,” Rounds said. “I believe states have a constitutional role in setting their own policy on marriage. Marriage is between a man and a woman, and traditional families play an important role in the fabric of our society.”
South Dakota has had a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage since 2006, when voters in the state approved the amendment with about 52 percent of the vote. Last year, six same-sex couples, led by Minneapolis Attorney Josh Newville, sued the state, challenging the ban.
The lawsuit filed by Newville in South Dakota is on hold at the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. The attorney said he didn’t anticipate any delay from the 8th Circuit judges affirming that gay marriage should be legal in the state and said he would ask the 8th Circuit on Friday to issue a ruling on his case.
Newville, who is gay, was ecstatic Friday after learning of the high court’s sweeping ruling.
“As a lawyer for them, I can’t tell you how happy that I know they are,” he said. “But as a gay man, who went into the practice of law specifically because of this issue, I’m overwhelmed,” he said.
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Associated Press writers Regina Garcia Cano and James Nord contributed to this report.
