DES MOINES, Iowa – A lesbian couple has apparently become the first same-sex couple to legally wed in Iowa since a court ruling took effect legalizing gay marriage.
Melisa Keeton and Shelley Wolfe were married in a ceremony on the Polk County administrative building in Des Moines just before 9 a.m.
The marriage came less than an hour after the state Supreme Court ruling took effect. The couple was allowed to bypass the state’s three-day waiting period before licenses are considered valid.
Officials have reported same-sex couples applying for marriage licenses in several counties.
Iowa became the third state to allow gay marriage when the state Supreme Court ruled April 3 that a ban on same-sex marriage violated the Iowa Constitution.