Same-sex unions boost California’s June wedding average: Survey finds that more than two and a half times the usual number of couples were issued a license.
Posted on June 30, 2008
Filed Under Gay News Blog
County clerks issued more than 8,500 marriage licenses in the first week same-sex marriage was legal in California, more than two and half times an average June week, a Times survey found.
The tally includes licenses issued to both same-sex and heterosexual couples, although county clerks in many locations indicated that the majority went to gay and lesbian couples. The state, which is not tracking the gender of applicants, has replaced “Bride” and “Groom” on marriage applications with the terms “Party A” and “Party B.”
In Los Angeles County, the state’s most populous, 1,806 licenses were issued from 5:01 p.m. on June 16, when the ban lifted, through June 23. The number, the highest in the state, was nearly twice an average week. San Diego County reported 864 licenses issued, up from 225; San Francisco County 849, up from 120; Orange County 667, up from 150; and Riverside County 493, up from 45.
Riverside County, where Palm Springs has marketed itself as a destination for gay marriages, saw the largest percentage increase, jumping nearly 1,000%. County officials said 329 of the 493 licenses issued went to same-sex couples.
“You know, honestly, I think we didn’t know what to expect,” said Riverside County’s Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder Larry W. Ward. “We had heard that there were going to be airplanes of people flown in but that never materialized so we were a bit over-prepared.” The state, which is not tracking the gender of applicants, has replaced “Bride” and “Groom” on marriage applications with the terms “Party A” and “Party B.”
In Los Angeles County, the state’s most populous, 1,806 licenses were issued from 5:01 p.m. on June 16, when the ban lifted, through June 23. The number, the highest in the state, was nearly twice an average week. San Diego County reported 864 licenses issued, up from 225; San Francisco County 849, up from 120; Orange County 667, up from 150; and Riverside County 493, up from 45.
Riverside County, where Palm Springs has marketed itself as a destination for gay marriages, saw the largest percentage increase, jumping nearly 1,000%. County officials said 329 of the 493 licenses issued went to same-sex couples.
“You know, honestly, I think we didn’t know what to expect,” said Riverside County’s Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder Larry W. Ward. “We had heard that there were going to be airplanes of people flown in but that never materialized so we were a bit over-prepared.” Same-sex unions boost California’s June wedding average
Los Angeles Times
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