The McLennan County clerk’s office began issuing same-sex marriage licenses just a couple of hours after the Supreme Court’s ruling on Friday. Now any time a couple gets a marriage license in Texas, there’s a mandatory 72-hour waiting period to get married, and that time was up for one same-sex couple in Waco, who according to local LGBTQ advocacy group InterWaco, had the first legal same-sex wedding in McLennan County.
At the foot of the Waco Supension Bridge, under overcast skies and flanked by family and friends, Adriana Uren, 21, and April Hector, married. The couple received their marriage license Friday, after the Supreme Court ruled that bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional.
Twenty-one-year-old Uren says when she found out about the ruling she called Hector to let her know the news.
“I was excited, I was ready for this to happen and the minute I found out I jumped on it and I was ready to marry her,” Uren says.
On Friday, counties across Texas were inundated with same-sex couples seeking to fill out their marriage license application. Some County judges even waived the 72-hour waiting period, so those couples could get married immediately. Uren and Hector say they never thought they would be able to marry in Texas.
“We thought we would have to go out of state to get it done because we didn’t think they were ever going to pass it in Texas," Hector says. "At least not in our lifetime," Uren added.
For Uren it was a historic moment
"Just to know that we're the first couple making a difference out here, just to show that we're doing it, we're not scared, we're showing the world that we're together, we're happy." Uren says.