Stay Apparently Ends Practice Of Issuing Licesnes


A Des Moines minister married two Iowa men on Friday in the state's first legal same-sex marriage, but the window for those who rushed out for licenses quickly closed when the judge who allowed it stayed his own order.

Sean Fritz, 24, and Tim McQuillen, 21, were married Friday morning by Rev. Mark Stringer of Unitarian Church in a service in the front yard of his home.

Fritz and McQuillan are the first same-sex couple to be married after a Polk County judge's ruling that Iowa's gay marriage ban violated the state's constitution.

"This is it. We're married. I love you," Fritz told McQuillan.

Stringer is a reverend at the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines. The minister, who didn't know the couple before Friday, concluded the ceremony by saying, "This is a legal document and you are married."

Judge Issues Stay

The window for same-sex couples to get marriage licenses was only open for about four hours Friday morning. The Polk County judge who had ruled Thursday that the state could not bar same-sex couples from marriage just because of their gender placed a hold on his own order pending a state Supreme Court review.

Polk County Attorney John Sarcone had said his office would appeal the case to the Iowa Supreme Court.

The Associated Press reported that the county recorder said she was ordered to stop issuing licenses to same-sex couples. Julie Haggerty said she was instructed by the county attorney's office after Judge Robert Hanson verbally issued a stay of his ruling striking down same-sex marriages.

Judge Robert Hanson said the stay was officially filed early Friday afternoon.

Haggerty said about 20 marriage applications from gay couples were accepted before she was told to stop.

Couples Line Up

At least four same-sex couples were lined up outside the Polk County Recorder's Office at the courthouse when the office opened at 7:30 a.m. Friday.

The county recorder said 11 out of the first 12 marriage licenses issued Friday morning were to same-sex couples.

The law requires a waiting period of three business days. But the male couple who married said the waiting period can be ignored if they pay an extra $5 and get a judge's signature approving an expedited process. The couple said they got an approval signature Friday morning from District Court Judge Scott Rosenberg