WEDDING SEASON

Wash. Issues First Gay Marriage Licenses

While U.S. support for same-sex unions at all-time high.

Get ready for those save-the-date cards. Shortly after midnight on Thursday, Jane Abbott Lightly, 85, and Pete-e Petersen, 77, were issued a marriage license—the first to a same-sex couple in Washington state. “We’re so excited to know we’ll get a license and then get married on Sunday,” said Petersen, as a crowd outside the King’s County courthouse cheered. Voters in the state last month approved a referendum for legally allowing same-sex couples to wed—one of three states that for the first time voted in marriage equality—and Gov. Chris Gregoire and Secretary of State Sam Reed officially certified the referendum on Wednesday. Nationwide, gay-marriage support has reached an all-time high, with 53 percent of Americans supporting marriage equality. according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday.