[pictured: Niki Dismuke and Deasia Johnson, via Twitter]
It's early Tuesday morning in Guam and marriage equality has arrived!
Pacific Daily News reporter Cameron Miculka has been live tweeting the historic news at the Office of Vital Statistics in Mangilao.
Kathleen Aguero & Loretta Pangelinan, the couple who sued for marriage equality in Guam, first to file. pic.twitter.com/50MesY5eRg
— Cameron Miculka (@CIMiculka) June 8, 2015
Lillian Lee, 57, and Susan Diaz, 65, who have been together 45 years, applying for a marriage license today in Guam. pic.twitter.com/kiQFJF7Sao
— Cameron Miculka (@CIMiculka) June 8, 2015
Aguero, Pangelinan pose with the first marriage license issued to a same-sex couple in Guam. pic.twitter.com/4bHCuqx0JY
— Cameron Miculka (@CIMiculka) June 8, 2015
Aguero, Pangelinan pose with the first marriage license issued to a same-sex couple in Guam. pic.twitter.com/4bHCuqx0JY
— Cameron Miculka (@CIMiculka) June 8, 2015
Last week, a federal judge ended the prolonged legal battle over same-sex marriage in the U.S. island territory. After earlier attempts to stonewall any progress in the case, Gov. Eddie Calvo agreed to follow the ruling.
Guam is the first U.S. territory to allow same-sex marriage. Puerto Rico's same-sex marriage ban is currently on appeal in the First Circuit. There has been no legal action and no same-sex couples have sought to marry in the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Northern Mariana Islands.
The AP adds:
About 80 percent of Guam residents are Catholic. Guam Archbishop Anthony Apuron said in a statement that the ruling “is not only a defeat for Christian principles, but a defeat for our island and the whole of humanity.”
