Today’s the day that marriage equality becomes the law in Minnesota and Rhode Island, and dozens of couples tied the knot in the early morning hours just after the law took effect. Weddings started at midnight across Minnesota, as couples rushed to take part in the historic occasion.
The biggest celebration was in Minneapolis. Starting at midnight, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak performed 46 weddings at City Hall, with 1,000 onlookers celebrating the couples. Betty Crocker, part of Minnesota-based General Mills, donated wedding cakes for the celebration. Local florists and photographers also donated their services.
“I didn’t expect to cry quite that hard,” said Cathy ten Broeke, who married Margaret Miles while their five-year-old son looked on. The couple were the first to be married by the mayor,
The scene in Rhode Island was more low-key. Couples there began marrying when the license bureaus opened at 8:30 a.m. EDT. Rhode Island is the last New England state to legalize marriage equality. Perhaps that’s why the difference between Minnesota and Rhode Island is the difference between “Finally!” and “about time.”
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Photo credit: Minnesota Public Radio
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It’s the combination of size and location. There’s nowhere in Rhode Island you couldn’t drive an hour (two, allowing for traffic jams) and be in a state that would marry you, and RI would then recognize it. So in that state, while the parity is important, in practical terms the disadvantage was relatively minimal. Minnesota, as I understand it, didn’t accept out-of-state marriages for same-sex couples, and most of it is a significant drive from Iowa (which has a waiting period, so you’d have to stay a few days.)