Nuptials at Midnight as Gay Marriage Hits Minn. (R.I., D.C.)

[Hissyspit]

Source: Associated Press

@AP: R.I., Minn. becoming 12th and 13th US states to allow gay marriage along with District of Columbia: http://t.co/mkmEKigO6G - VW

NUPTIALS AT MIDNIGHT AS GAY MARRIAGE HITS MINN.

By PATRICK CONDON
— Jul. 31 10:34 PM EDT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Dozens of Minnesota gay couples made last-minute preparations Wednesday for midnight marriages, determined to exchange vows at the earliest possible moment under a new state law legalizing same-sex marriage.

Weddings were scheduled to start at the stroke of midnight at Minneapolis City Hall, St. Paul's Como Park, Mall of America's Chapel of Love and at county courthouses around the state. One group planned a cluster of weddings in a Duluth tavern.

"I don't think either of us ever thought we'd see this day," said Mike Bolin, of the Minneapolis suburb of Richfield, who was marrying Jay Resch, his partner of six years, at Minneapolis City Hall. "We met at low points in both of our lives, and to have arrived at this point — there's going to be a lot of tears."

Rhode Island was joining Minnesota on Thursday in becoming the 12th and 13th U.S. states to allow gay marriage, along with the District of Columbia. The national gay rights group Freedom to Marry estimates that about 30 percent of the U.S. population now lives in places where gay marriage is legal. The first gay weddings in Rhode Island were planned for later Thursday morning.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/nuptials-midnight-gay-marriage-hits-minn

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Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak takes a moment to himself as he prepares for the evening's weddings at City Hall, Wednesday, July 31, 2013 in Minneapolis. Dozens of Minnesota gay couples made last-minute preparations Wednesday for midnight marriages, determined to exchange vows at the earliest possible moment under a new state law legalizing same-sex marriage. (AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Jim Gehrz) MANDATORY CREDIT; ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS OUT; MAGS OUT; TWIN CITIES TV OUT

[Fearless]

1. World didn't end. Poor Michelle Bachmann.

[Beaverhausen]

2. Congrats to Minnesota

this mayor is cool. He's going to do this until 6 AM.

[cui bono]

3. Awesome.

How many states are we up to?

[SoapBox]

4. Cool!

Congrats to all the newlyweds!!

[awoke_in_2003]

5. An old standard comes to mind...

Train kept a Rollin' all night long. K&R.

[Thor_MN]

6. WTF??? The sun rose just a bit ago...

The conservatives were promising doom and destruction, gawd's wrath, brimstone, hellfire, and what not...

Looks like it's going to be a perfectly normal, boring summer day...

[theHandpuppet]

7. You mean Minnesota hasn't been swallowed up by a huge sinkhole spitting flames?

I guess somebody lied.

[Thor_MN]

8. Nope, nothing unusual... Guess I'm going to have to go to work today.

I was so hoping for a day off. Damn conservative liars.

[theHandpuppet]

9. Be prepared for traffic jams

As the sanctity of heterosexual marriage has now been destroyed, be prepared for all roads to be jammed with frantic people headed to divorce court. Then of course there's the excessive CO2 that will be emitted by hyperventilating fundamentalists. It will be dangerous out there -- perhaps you should take the day off to make sure it's safe.

[roamer65]

10. Minnesota permanently kills the idea of a federal constitutional...

amendment banning same-sex marriage.

It takes 38 states to ratify, Minnesota was number 13 to legalize, therefore only 37 states left.