Ron Wilkins

rwilkins@jconline.com

Daniel Peo and Douglas Taylor arrived at the Tippecanoe County Courthouse at 8 a.m. Thursday to get their marriage license and were told no. No one likes to be told no, especially if it's something important.

The Lafayette couple's denial, however, was short-lived, and within two hours, their 2 1/2-year love affair was sealed in marriage.

"We were refused because the state forms had not been updated. They still say bride and groom," Peo said shortly after 8 a.m. Thursday as Taylor, friends and family contemplated what might unfold in the coming hours. "We're a little disappointed, though, because there are many counties that have already begun to issue licenses. We're disappointed that the clerk is delaying this for us."

While some Indiana counties immediately began issuing same-sex marriage licenses Wednesday after U.S. District Judge Richard Young released his decision that overturned Indiana's ban on same-sex marriage, calling it unconstitutional, Tippecanoe County took a more cautious approach.

County Attorney Doug Masson said Wednesday that he counseled against issuing the licenses to give him time to thoroughly read the decision, and Clerk Christa Coffey said she did not have the authority to alter the marriage license application — a state document.

When it came to disappointed couples, Peo and Taylor were in good company. Inside the courthouse, about a half-dozen same-sex couples milled around the second floor outside of the clerk's office, waiting for news that they could get their marriage license.

One couple was Jim Smith and Jim Mailloux, who were there with friends and family to witness their big day, which by 9 a.m. was still mired in bureaucratic red tape that Coffey feverishly worked to unravel.

"They said stick around," Mailloux said. "We heard they emailed Indianapolis this morning at 6:30 to get the right forms, and they haven't heard back.

"There's a possibility that it could happen yet today."

Possibility turned to reality about 9:30 a.m. when Coffey called the couples and their supporters together outside her office and announced that Tippecanoe Circuit Judge Don Daniel gave the clerk's office authority to modify the marriage license forms, prompting cheers and applause from the crowd.

By the end of the workday, 27 same-sex marriage licenses were issued, Coffey said.

With marriage license in hand, Peo and Taylor walked from the clerk's office to the rotunda, where Matt Hicks performed the ceremony as friends, family and members of the media recorded the county's first government-sanctioned same-sex wedding.

Like the question posed to a Super Bowl victor, the couple was asked: What did they plan to do now?

"We're going to a Cubs game," Poe said. "We're going to live a long, happy life together."

Happily ever after, however, is still in doubt for same-sex marriage in Indiana. Attorney General Greg Zoeller on Wednesday asked Young to stay his order.

The community isn't entirely accepting of same-sex marriages.

Brad Bush, pastor at Maple Ridge Community Church and president of the Tippecanoe Evangelical Association of Ministers and Ministries, said the association has been meeting for a couple of months to craft a statement on same-sex marriage, so Wednesday's news didn't hit him out of the blue.

"The first word I thought of when I heard the decision was 'inevitable,'" Bush said, "only because of the major cultural shift over the last decade and because of the number of judicial decisions over the last couple of years."

The association meets next week to review and approve the group's prepared stance on the issue, so Bush wouldn't release the document. The members will also discuss how to use the stance and where to publish it — for example, from the pulpit or in the newspaper.

Bush said they are not hate-mongering and don't dislike or fear same-sex couples. In fact, they welcome them.

"From our context and worldview, we believe God created man and woman in a complementary purpose that reflects his nature," Bush said.

"I believe God loves all people without discrimination, without distinction. But that same God does not accept all behavior without discrimination."

Peo and Taylor indicated their marriage is an opportunity to reach out to break down barriers, and Bush made a similar comment.

"We do need to be the salt and light that reflects God's character for mankind," Bush said. "It provides an opportunity to present an alternative culture of God's good and intentions."

But Bush noted that same-sex marriage is not God's intention, so Poe, Taylor and Bush are not likely to convert each other.