Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, the lead plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case that overturned California’s same-sex marriage ban, finally tied the knot at San Francisco City Hall on Friday, about an hour after an appeals court cleared the way for same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris officiated the wedding ceremony and went with the Berkeley couple to obtain their wedding license. “I now declare you spouses for life,” Harris announced at City Hall.
The couple sued to overturn the state’s voter-approved gay marriage ban along with Jeff Katami and Paul Zarrillo, of Burbank, Cali., who married Friday evening at Los Angeles City Hall. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa presided over Katami and Zarrillo’s wedding ceremony which aired live on msnbc’s The Rachel Maddow Show.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a stay on an injunction which ordered state officials to stop enforcing Proposition 8 Friday afternoon and resume weddings for same-sex couples in California for the first time in 4 1/2 years.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that ProtectMarriage, the sponsors of Proposition 8, lacked authority to defend the measure in court. Harris called on the 9th Circuit that same day to lift its hold on the ruling and county clerks began receiving calls from same-sex couples wanting to schedule their ceremonies.
Take a look at the photos below of Perry and Stier’s wedding ceremony.
Clare Kim