County clerks in Idaho officially began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples today. But those couples aren’t the only ones celebrating.
Couples who already got married in another state will also see changes.
Juli Stratton was standing in the hallway outside the recorder’s office in Kootenai County when she got an email from a lawyer in town she’d contacted. The message confirmed that Stratton and her wife’s marriage license from California should be legally recognized by Idaho now.
Stratton said that will mean they can do things like file joint state income taxes or more easily adopt the other’s last name.
Stratton hopes public opinion starts changing too, even though she knows many Idahoans will be unhappy with court-imposed gay marriage.
“If we were able to have our state vote on it and know it was going to pass, that’d be great, but the truth is, it is a constitutional right,” she said.
Gay rights activists are already looking ahead to their next goal in Idaho: adding gender identity and sexual orientation to the state’s anti-discrimination laws.
Copyright 2014 Northwest News Network
