Nicole Pries, left, and Lindsey Oliver share a kiss as they celebrate being one of the first same-sex couples in Virginia to be married, Monday, Oct. 6, 2014, outside a Richmond Court building in Richmond, Va. The couple were the first in the Richmond are to be married after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to overturn same sex-marriage prohibitions. Photo: Steve Helber, AP

Nicole Pries, left, and Lindsey Oliver share a kiss as they celebrate being one of the first same-sex couples in Virginia to be married, Monday, Oct. 6, 2014, outside a Richmond Court building in Richmond, Va. The couple were the first in the Richmond are to be married after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to overturn same sex-marriage prohibitions. Photo: Steve Helber, AP

RICHMOND, Va. — Just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way by turning away several appeals, gay couples have started marrying in Virginia.

Thirty-year-old Lindsey Oliver and 42-year-old Nicole Pries received the first same-sex marriage license issued from the Richmond Circuit Court Clerk’s office shortly after 1 p.m. Monday.

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Upon leaving the courthouse, they were married by gay-rights advocate The Rev. Robin Gorsline.

The couple said Monday also was the anniversary of a commitment ceremony they held on a North Carolina beach three years ago.

Earlier Monday, the Supreme Court unexpectedly and tersely turned away appeals from five states, including Virginia, seeking to prohibit gay and lesbian unions.

Oliver said shortly after her wedding that she believes gay marriage will soon be legal throughout the country.

Va. AG cheers Supreme Court gay marriage decision

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) – Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring is praising the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to allow same-sex marriages to go forward in Virginia and says they will go forward immediately.

At a press conference Monday in Arlington, Herring said that all Virginia local court clerks must begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Herring, a Democrat who supports same sex marriage and argued in federal court that Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage should be struck down, said it was a historic day and that he is proud that Virginia was on the right side of the law and the right side of history.

Solicitor General Stuart Rafael says all couples getting married in Virginia will now fill out a license that identifies each party as “spouse” rather than “husband” or “wife.”

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