Wanting to be a part of history and to join the celebration in Arizona, Robert Gordon, 71, and Stephen Kraynak, 67, became one of the first same-sex couples to get married in Tucson.
“It’s a validation by the state of Arizona that we’ve been waiting for since we moved here,” Kraynak said. “We never thought Arizona would beat the state of Ohio in terms of marrying same-sex couples, but here it is happening today.”
The couple, who have been together for 16 years, moved to Tucson from Columbus almost four years ago .
Dressed in matching guayaberas, Gordon and Kraynak tied the knot Friday outside Pima County Superior Court, part of a wave of same-sex couples who wasted no time getting their marriage licenses after Attorney General Tom Horne said he would not fight the landmark decision yesterday morning striking down the state’s gay marriage ban.
Pima County Superior Court Clerk Toni Hellon said about 65 marriage licenses were issued Friday by 6:30 p.m., which is double the usual number on any given day. The court will not keep a breakdown of same-sex couples seeking a license because it is discriminatory, she said.
Hellon said her office also received several telephone calls from people who were disgruntled with the new law.
For some couples who rushed downtown Friday, the sudden end to years of waiting seemed unreal.
“Coming down here, we weren’t really believing that this was going to happen,” said Kristin Gunckel. “Even walking in we were going, ‘Do you think they’ll really do it?’ ”
Gunckle and her partner, Marcy Wood, have been together for 22 years and said they have been fighting for their right to get married for a long time.
“In 2004 we lived in Michigan and were there when they passed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. We campaigned against that and it was a real heartbreaker,” Wood said. “So to be here 10 years later, just a decade, able to get married is astonishing.”
Jennifer Shelton said she was excited and overwhelmed as she and her partner, Katherine Harrison, walked out of Superior Court with their marriage license in hand.
The couple, who met 20 years ago and have been together for three, already planned to have a commitment ceremony today, so the timing was perfect, they said.
“It was more about us showing our love for each other, which is why we’re going to have our ceremony,” Harrison said. “I just think it’s amazing that we got this — now we get to pay off each other’s debt.”
Although Harrison joked, Shelton said their previous lack of rights as a same-sex couple weighed on both of them.
“I worried a lot about not being able to see her, or vice versa, if anything were to happen. The things that we own, and just being able to have the same rights as everybody else,” Shelton said.
Many couples at the courthouse spoke of the importance of the legal rights that come with having their unions recognized by the state.
“When my former partner died in the ‘90s in Ohio, I lost about 40 percent of our joint resources to taxes and inheritance,” Gordon said. “Things like that wouldn’t have happened had we been legally married.”
But along with the financial benefits, society’s validation of their relationships was also a motivator.
“People that you talk to anywhere in the world understand what it means if you say you are a married couple,” Kraynak said. “The other possibilities of civil union and so forth just do not carry the meaning that marriage does.”
Christina Koulouris and Carmen Diaz took an extended lunch hour to rush to the courthouse before heading back to work.
Together since 2006, the couple called the occasion history in the making and said they weren’t worried about any backlash.
“People are going to hate and they can hate all they want, but I’m the one that’s happy,” Koulouris said.
Diaz looked forward to being able to take her partner’s last name, while Koulouris said they planned to have a ceremony in March, a large one.
“It’s going to be a big wedding,” she said. “I’m Greek, so it’s going to be a big fat Greek-Mexican wedding.”
Aaron Singleton barely had time for coffee as he rushed out the door Friday morning, so news of the landmark court decision was lost in his morning routine. But his partner, Dustin Cox, soon called to tell him.
“I picked it (the phone) up and he said, ‘Hey — serious question — do you want to go down and get married today?’ ” Singleton remembers. “Sure, yeah, let’s do it. Let’s be a part of history,” he told Cox.
The couple had plans to go to Nevada in the coming weeks, believing Arizona would not allow them to marry in the near future. Instead, they were among the first same-sex couples to get married in Tucson.
Cox spent the hours before the wedding convincing his best friend and business partner to quickly become a minister so she could marry them.
State Rep. Stefanie Mach hastily applied for an online ordination as a minister, enabling her to marry the couple about 3 p.m.
Outside the courthouse, members of Rincon Congregational United Church of Christ, Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson and Saguaro Christian Church gathered in support and greeted exiting couples with applause.
“It was important to us on a historic day to come out as more of a show of support than anything,” said the Rev. Owen Chandler, senior minister at Saguaro Christian. “We wanted to let those that have gathered for this special day know that at least a few religious voices in this community will celebrate and honor this.”
Chandler remained outside the Pima County Superior Court building into Friday night, marrying couples who showed up in the evening. He had officiated at the weddings of 11 couples by shortly after 7 p.m.
Among those was Stephanie Ludwig, 41, a spiritual services provider at a resort, and Juanita Rountree, 55, who works for a medical manufacturer in quality assurance. The couple have been in a relationship for 10 years, and moved from Flagstaff to Tucson in May.
More than seven years ago, the couple exchanged vows before a minister at a Unitarian Universalist Church in Flagstaff, but they knew the marriage wasn’t legally recognized.
While they exchanged vows and rings for a second time, Ludwig jumped with happiness before they embraced and kissed.
“I feel relieved now because of the protection that legal marriage provides to our lives as a couple,” said Ludwig. Added Rountree: “I feel affirmed that our relationship is recognized by the state, and for the first time in my life I will be able to check ‘married’ in all legal documents.”
The couple went to eat dinner at a downtown restaurant, and in December they plan to honeymoon in Hawaii.
In addition to getting married Friday night outside Superior Court, other couples exchanged vows in courtrooms at Justice Court.
One of those couples was Carolina Samorano, 49, and Sylvia Samorano, 38, who have been together for 17 years raising children and grandchildren. They were married before Judge Jose Luis Castillo.
Tech Sgt. Sylvia Samorano, who is in the Arizona National Guard, said she survived the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy until it was overturned. “Now we will be recognized as two married people with rights,” she said.
“This is a very big and emotional moment for us. There were a lot of tears,” said Sylvia Samorano, who planned on celebrating over sushi, while her wife, Carolina, would eat a wedding-day meal of tacos, rice and beans. A party awaited them at home with their children and grandchilden.
Said Gordon: “I think the last big barrier to equality has fallen.”
