DeKalb County judges conducted 17 same-sex marriage ceremonies Saturday as county offices remained open on the morning after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision guaranteeing gay couples the right to marry.
“Seventeen long years,” Aubrey Taylor declared after he and his partner for those years, Timothy Jackson, were married by magistrate court Judge Mary McCall Cash.
For four hours Saturday morning, couples shuttled between the probate court offices in the basement, where marriage licenses were being issued, to a first-floor courtroom where judges were available.
“We did this for the convenience of the public,” said Probate Judge Jeryl Debra Rosh. Twenty-seven marriage licenses were issued, “the vast majority” to same-sex couples, she said.
Jessica Watkins and Heather Davis came from Marietta in large measure because Jessica is nine weeks pregnant. They said they needed to become legally married as soon as possible to avoid an elaborate and costly adoption process.
“What this means is all (Heather) has to do is sign the birth certificate as the second parent,” Watkins said. “That’s the most historic thing for us.”
Cathy Russelle and Kathy Smith, both from Covington, said they were unsure where they would go to get married after the Supreme Court decision. They said they considered doing it Friday in Newton County but finally decided they would be more comfortable in an urban setting.
“I really didn’t think this day would come,” Smith said.
Drew Marlar and Bryan Neumeier of Decatur, together 20 years, went through the process Saturday even though they said they were already legally married in New York.
Getting married again will allow them to file their state tax return jointly, but the major reason is psychological, they said.
“It’s a big deal for Georgia,” said Marlar, an attorney. “We’re married in New York, but we wanted to be married in our home state.”
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