Two men sealed the state’s first legal same-sex marriage with a kiss Friday morning, less than 24 hours after a judge threw out Iowa’s ban on gay marriage and about two hours before he put that ruling on hold.<\/p>\n
It was a narrow window of opportunity.<\/p>\n
Polk County Judge Robert Hanson temporarily cleared the way for same-sex couples across the state to apply for marriage licenses in the county when he ruled Thursday that Iowa’s 1998 Defense of Marriage Act, which allowed marriage only between a man and a woman, violated the constitutional rights of due process and equal protection of six gay couples who had sued.<\/p>\n
County attorney John Sarcone promised a quick appeal and asked Hanson to stay his ruling until that appeal was resolved.<\/p>\n
A dozen gay and lesbian couples were waiting at the county recorder’s office when it opened at 7:30 Friday morning.<\/p>\n
”This might be our only chance,” said Katy Farlow, who waited in a lawn chair with fellow Iowa State University student Larissa Boeck.<\/p>\n