Saturday, December 29, 2012
Associated Press
PORTLAND, Maine
Chris Kast and Byron Bartlett already consider themselves married after a 2010 ceremony overlooking Portland Harbor, but now they’re doing it all over again — they were planning to be among the first to get a marriage license when Maine’s same-sex marriage law went into effect at 12:01 a.m. today.
After waiting years for the opportunity, gay couples in Maine’s largest city didn’t have to wait a moment longer than necessary to get married, with Portland City Hall opening at midnight when the law went into effect to issue the first marriage licenses under the new law.
Voters approved gay marriage in November, making Maine and two other states the first to do so by popular vote. The law already is in effect in Washington state; Maryland’s takes effect Tuesday, the first day of 2013.
Gay marriage already was legal in New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia, but those laws were enacted either by lawmakers or through court rulings.
Gov. Paul LePage signed off on the certified election results Nov. 29, so the new law was to go into effect 30 days from that date. Also, same-sex marriages in other states will be recognized by the state of Maine.