For 15 years, Vancouver, WA resident Paul Harris issued marriage licences, but was denied the right to marry his partner of four decades. Today, he "finally got to sit on the other side of the counter as Washington issued its first marriage licences to gay couples after the move was approved by a popular referendum last month." (guardian.co.uk via Matt Wells)

  • Paul Renault

    Er, if he was a Vancouver resident…why didn’t he just get married, since it’s legal all over Canad…oooh!  Vancouver WA, not Vancouver BC.

    /never mind.

    • theophrastvs

      I had a “crazy” aunt who on her vacation phoned up my parents once demanding that they guide her Butchart Gardens; that she read about them, and wanted to see them while traveling in Southern Washington State  …s’true story… that’s mistaking a city for an island in another country.  …yep

    • ohbejoyful

      There are some who’d like to have it renamed to Ft. Vancouver – avoids the mixup and plays up the town’s historical significance. Vancouver started out as a Canadian military fort owned by the Hudson’s Bay retail establishment, to protect the fur traders. There is a wonderful working reconstruction of the entire fort – the chief factor’s house, the trading post, the bakery, the guard tower, the smithy, – it was like a small village.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000266687773 Jim Wile

    Hurrah for Paul and James!

  • Rindan

    This is HORRIBLE!  What is the point of even getting married now?  I was going to get married and have children, but WTF is the point now?  If the gays can get married, it basically means that any marriage I would have would be completely meaningless.  This is an attack on MY civil rights.  The government shouldn’t even be involved in forcing us to have gay marriage.  These sorts of SOCIALIST policies are ruining our nation.  These attacks on normal white men is getting out of hand and is COMPLETELY RACIST AND SEXIST AGAINST WHITE MEN.

    So gay celebrate all you want, but this is basically like ROME.  You have destroyed marriage and Socialist Barack Hussein Obama is the reason why the economy is so bad.    Marriage is MEANINGLESS now.  You SOCIALIST LIBERALS will get what you deserve!

    • Geoduck

       What’s really sad is, it doesn’t matter how gibberingly insane and over-the-top you make one of these comments, there are STILL large numbers of people who genuinely believe it.
      (Proud to be a Washingtonian today!)

      • http://profile.yahoo.com/TS56Z5EJYRFVBTWSWKIZUSVFCM Max

        You do realise that there’s a big chance (not a certainty but a rather big chance) that Rindan is just trolling, or being too successful at writing a /sarcasm post?

  • giantasterisk

    40 years together! They’ll celebrate an anniversary and a wedding at the same time. Don’t their smiles tell the whole story, though? So sweet…

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/Freethinkersanon Christopher

    It’s not often that a news story makes my entire day, but this is one of those times. No matter what else happens it’s going to be a good day.