Kenton County witnesses first same-sex marriage

COVINGTON

Carl D. Fox a nd Terry Bond became the first same-sex couple married in Kenton County today.

"I'm a real American now" said Fox at 1:30 p.m. after saying "I do" in front of magistrate Steve Hoffman's chapel in Covington.

Bond and Fox said they were renewing vows they took in New York City in 2011 after same-sex marriages were legalized in New York state. Now, Kentucky has recognized their marriage too, Fox said.

"We can now say we're now proudly legally married and full Americans," he said.

Bond and Fox have been a couple for 19 years. They own the Crazy Fox Saloon in Newport.

Fox, 57, said he has been blessed to survive three different fatal illness and his Parkinson's disease is "pretty advanced."

"Now I know the meaning of justice delayed is justice denied," Fox said. "And I was terrified I would not see this day."

Bond, 48, and Fox said their vows before Steve Hoffman, known as "The Marrying Man," whose wedding chapel is across the street from Kenton County Clerk Gabrielle Summe's office.

Wearing tuxedos, Fox and Bond walked into Summe's office where they f

ound they were the second same-sex couple issued a marriage license in Kenton County since the 10 a.m. U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Clerks in Summe's office issued the first license to two women within 15 minutes of receiving a directive from Gov. Steve Beshear to start issuing same-sex marria

ge licenses and follow the Supreme Court's ruling. The two women, who said they wished to remain anonymous, planned to get married on Saturday.

Summe said she had no problem following the law. Campbell County Clerk Jim Luersen said he had issued two same-sex marriage licenses as of 4 p.m. Both licenses were issued to women. The first couple have been together for 17 years, Luersen said. The second couple went across the street and were married by a magistrate, he said.

Hoffman said Fox and Bond are well known in the community, and talked with them ahead of time about wanting to marry the day it became legal in Kentucky.

"It's a pretty historic day not only for you guys, but for a lot of folks," Hoffman said.

Hoffman said he has married more than 30,000 couples, and he can now for the first time say he can marry every couple who wants to be wed."I follow the law, and the law of the land states equal rights for everyone and civil rights for everyone," he said. "This is the United States of America."