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Jun 17, 2008 10:05 pm US/Central
Dallas Couple Heading To California To Wed
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Hundreds of same-sex couples lined up in California to tie the knot.
It was the first full day they could do so legally, after the state supreme court overturned a ban on gay marriage.
Now some Texas couples are planning to head west. These couples say they've watched and waited for the day they could hear wedding bells, even if they are in California.
To most couples, nearly two decades together without saying "I do" would be a long time. Steve Atkinson and Ted Kincaid of Dallas say they're no different.
"If we could have been legally married, we would have done that way, way, way back; probably in year two," said Atkinson.
Next month, they'll get their wish in California. The state has no residency requirements for a marriage license, so Atkinson and Kincaid are planning a destination wedding.
They have followed history's path toward legalizing gay marriage: A civil union in Vermont, a wedding ceremony in Canada. But they say this milestone is different.
"There's something that sort of makes you heart beat faster knowing that you can do this, and that somewhere it's recognized and it's legal," said Kincaid.
They call it a step - and only a step- because their marriage will not be recognized by either the Texas or federal government.
Opponents of gay marriage say this type of equality is both wrong and detrimental to society.
"It leaves open the possibility of defining marriage to be whatever we want it to be," said Dr. Robert Jeffress, Sr. Pastor at First Baptist Church in Dallas. "It cheapens marriage and really strikes at the fabric of our society."
But to Atkinson and Kincaid, it's about the law recognizing what they know in their hearts.
The debate in California isn't over. In November, voters in the state will go to the polls to decide whether to adopt a constitutional ban on gay marriage.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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