Mark Reed and Dante Walkup had been together for 10 years when they decided to get hitched. There was one problem: they wanted to be wed at home, in Texas, where gay marriage is illegal. So they fired up Skype.
Determined to marry amongst friends and family in Dallas, Reed and Walkup turned to technology to make their dream wedding come true. They traveled to Washington DC, where they applied for and received a Certificate of Marriage. Then they found Officiant Shiela Reid-Alexander to preside over the ceremony back in Dallas.
On their big day, the Dallas banquet hall had all the usual trappings of a wedding, but it also had an AV system and an internet connection. On a screen behind the grooms, Reid-Alexander appeared via Skype to officiate the ceremony remotely from D.C., where gay marriage is legal. Explains blogger Jay Morris, who was in the crowd in Texas:
In order for Dante and Mark’s wedding to be legal in Washington, D.C., the ceremony had to be performed by an official authorised by the District to conduct weddings.
To overcome the jurisdictional issues, Mark and Dante arranged for the officiant to appear via Skype along with several witnesses in D.C., while the couple stood within the boundaries of their home state before their friends and family.
I think it’s safe to call this the best Skype session ever. [YouTube via BuzzFeed]
FlexSF
Friday, November 12, 2010 at 1:43 PMCongratulations to the couple!
Every AmeriKan who voted for a gay marriage ban was dead wrong, and if you continue to believe its OK to ban gay marriage, you’re a raging idiot, and you deserve all of the negativity you and your religious organization has coming to it!
Fiona
Friday, November 12, 2010 at 3:35 PMExcellent use of the technology! :D
DontGoTheirGirlFrien
Friday, November 12, 2010 at 3:46 PMIt turns out that they can’t Divorce in Texas either.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/31/texas-gay-divorce-denied-appeals-court_n_701393.html
Steve
Friday, November 12, 2010 at 5:37 PM“Hurka Durka! Dem Faggits Get’in marred in OUR ‘Merica! Dey Tekkin er jerbs! Kill em!”
In all seriousness, nice loophole they found. But flaunting it in the faces of all the bigots is kind of mean. There is no way the political and religious Right is going to take this one lying down.
simon c
Friday, November 12, 2010 at 6:01 PM“Every AmeriKan who voted for a gay marriage ban was dead wrong”
I agree. Well done to these guys.
On a side and similar note – As this article mentions that gay marriage is accepted(read:legal) in Washington – why is multiple marriages illegal? Mormons and Muslims receive discrimination about their multiple marriages when in a Western Nation.
Pot Kettle Black if you ask me.
Flash
Saturday, November 13, 2010 at 3:46 AMFrom Alaska,, best wishes for a long happy life together..Cheers