By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk • March 29, 2010 – 15:26

One of the British Army’s oldest regiments, the Household Cavalry, has celebrated its first civil partnership.

Lance Corporal James Wharton, 23, who was the first gay soldier to be featured on the cover of Soldier magazine last year, tied the knot with air steward Thom McCaffrey, 21.

The couple held their ceremony on Saturday, on the same day that Europe minister Chris Bryant and Jared Cranney became the first gay couple to hold their civil partnership in parliament.

They had their civil partnership at Old Marylebone Town Hall in London, followed by a reception at the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment’s Knightsbridge barracks.

L/Cpl Wharton told the Independent: “The entire regiment has been really supportive.

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By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk • March 27, 2010 – 18:44

The gay Europe minister Chris Bryant has held the first civil partnership ceremony to take place in the Houses of Parliament.

He entered into a civil partnership with Jared Cranney in a ceremony in the members’ dining room of the House of Commons earlier today.

Up until now, gay MPs were unable to tie the knot in the Houses of Parliament like their straight colleagues. This was because ceremonies took place within the Chapel of the Palace of Westminster, and at present, houses of worship can not conduct civil partnership ceremonies.

The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow obtained a licence from Westminster city council to hold the services in the Palace of Westminster. This means that members of the public will also be entitled to conduct civil partnerships and civil marriage ceremonies too, with slots allocated via a ballot.

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(Enlarge) On the first day that Washington recognized marriages of same-sex couples, the Rev. Lorilyn Candy Holmes, left, and the Rev. Elder Darlene Garner, right, from Laurel, walked down the aisle at the Human Rights Campaign building as they were married by the Rev. Dwayne Johnson, pastor of Metropolitan Community Church, where they both serve. (Staff photo by Matt Roth)

After being legally married last week on a historic day in Washington, two Laurel women are in the throes of planning a more traditional wedding to celebrate their union a second time.

Mexico will be the locale for the repeat proclamation of love by Darlene Garner and Lorilynn “Candy” Holmes, one of the first couples to marry March 9 under the District of Columbia’s new same-sex marriage law.

“It surprised me how liberating it felt to get married,” said Garner, who proposed to Holmes on New Year’s Eve.

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Terrance Health, left, and Rick Imirowicz exchange rings as Rev. Robert Hardies officiates during their wedding at All Souls Unitarian Church on the first day same-sex couples are legal to wed under a new law March 9, 2010. (Getty)

Rick Imirowicz and Terrance Heath

Same-Sex Couple
Wednesday, March 10, 2010; 1:00 PM

With the issuing of the first marriage licenses to same-sex couples Tuesday, the District follows five states — from Iowa to Massachusetts — in allowing gay couples to marry. Same-sex couples were first able to apply for licenses in the District last Wednesday but, like all couples, had to follow the city’s three-day waiting period before getting hitched.

Rick Imirowicz and Terrance Heath, who were married Tuesday, were online Wednesday, March 10, at 1 p.m. ET to discuss the new law in the District and what it means to them and others in the GLBT community and the nation.

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by Matthew E. Pilecki
EDGE Contributor
Thursday Mar 11, 2010

The Rev. Robert Hardies stands with Mayor Adrian Fenty.

As same-sex couples continue to the the knot in the District of Columbia, the fact remains local religious leaders played a critical role in the effort to allow gays and lesbians to marry in the city.

The Rev. Robert Hardies, senior minister of All Souls Unitarian Church, worked alongside the Revs. Dennis and Christine Wiley, married co-pastors of Covenant Baptist Church, to organize a multiracial and multi-denominational coalition of faith in support of marriage for same-sex couples. With more than 200 clergy members, the alliance held press conferences and religious services in support of nuptials for gays and lesbians. Members also turned out en masse to testify for the bill. Hardies told EDGE he decided to form the coalition after California voters overturned Proposition 8.

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By Jessica Gresko

Originally printed 3/11/2010 (Issue 1810 – Between The Lines News)

WASHINGTON. D.C. (AP) – One gay couple met on a Star Trek fan site, another dancing at a country western bar. Some have been together for months, others more than a decade.

About 150 pairs had something in common March 3, though: applying for wedding licenses on the first day same-sex unions became legal in the nation’s capital.

The mood at the marriage bureau inside the city’s Moultrie Courthouse was celebratory. Couples clapped, called out “Congratulations” and cupcakes and tulips were handed out. One family said it was important to show up the first day.

“It sets a good example,” said district resident Christine Burkhart, who married Denise Gavin in a ceremony in 2006 in Washington.

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Date: Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 6:01 am
By: Jessica Gresko, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — One bride wore a black suit, the other had on a white one with rhinestones. They walked down the aisle to Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are” and kissed after the pastor pronounced them “legally married.”

The Rev. Darlene Garner, 61, and the Rev. Candy Holmes, 53, were among the first same-sex couples to marry in Washington on Tuesday, when the district became the sixth place in the country to conduct the unions.

“You have been in love, and you have recognized it all along. But today, the love that you have recognized in your heart is recognized by the District of Columbia,” the Rev. Dwayne Johnson told the couple.

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Well it’s the day after and we wanted to share a few thoughts…There is music in the air and the song is called Love and Justice Win! How does one breathe in the magnitude of the tectonic shift of March 9th when marriage equality was realized in a concrete and recognizable way? We are not sure but are abiding in the afterglow of our day and a historic moment we shall never forget.We are not sure how we worked this past week. We both worked, but we were swimming upstream against the mounting momentum of getting married. We applied for the marriage certification on Tuesday, March 2nd. After the press conference outside of the Court House, we each went back to work as though it were just any ordinary day. Yet in both our work places there were constant reminders that things were about to change for the good, not only for us but also for the many. As I (Candy) walked the hallways of my Federal agency, voices from multiple directions caught me off guard with their expressions of “congratulations Mrs. Holmes, we saw you and your partner on CNN, etc.” Some didn’t know how to reference us but they felt compelled to say something to let us know we had their support. How wonderful!As the week progressed we rested some, yet even in sleep we were still awake on so many levels. How can you really sleep when every nerve in your body and every feeling in your essence are wired to the aliveness of this kind of moment in time? Though we slept, our spirits stayed awake for certain! Awake and watching history unfold as justice wrapped its arms around us and the entire community of “us” that had previously been barred from passing through the legal gate of marriage.Throughout the week, requests for interview after interview poured in, each one allowing yet another opportunity for us to speak our truth in love. Of course there were lots of questions regarding being African American lesbians who were not only religious but also clergy; the fullness of who we are rocked some of their worlds. We fielded questions about support from our families, our workplaces, our church, etc., and what it meant to have all these places merge. To all of it we could say with a resounding affirmation that we have received an outpouring of support and love for which we are so grateful and that it was a wonderful experience to be whole in every aspect of our lives. Rehearsal Day was March 6th. We kept wondering how in the world it would be possible for there to be three weddings in one hour. But you know what? We were too deliriously happy and had better things to worry about, like our shoes. Hello! The HRC (Human Rights Campaign) worked from start to finish like magical servant leaders to ensure that this experience was about and stayed focused on the three couples. From being present with us at the courthouse to transforming their Equality Center into a sanctuary, they were simply amazing! Our hats are off to HRC.Right after the rehearsal, we were interviewed by a Washington Post columnist who has been following us since Candy’s congressional testimony around same-sex partner benefits in June 2009. We had seen him again in July when Candy went to the White House to with President Obama as he signed a Presidential Memorandum to extend some benefits to the domestic partners of Federal employees. The interviewer was gracious and respectful as he asked me about the impact of marriage equality on us as a family with a Federal worker and on all those who work in the Federal Government. We so appreciated the opportunity to connect the dots regarding same-sex marriage in DC, with other issues where the struggle is not over — DOMA, DBPO, ENDA, and DADT. His article appeared on the day of our ceremony on the Federal page.Well, the big day finally arrived and we felt like we woke up into Christmas, to borrow a phrase from one of the other couples! Hallelujah!!! (That’s Candy’s Pentecostal side – LOL). The day started early and love showed up. Knocking at the door of our hotel suite was a gift called Monet. She is by far one of the best make up stylists in the DC area. And she worked wonders on our “not enough sleep” faces! (smile) Then love knocked at the door again in the person of our BFF — Donna Payne, who is always there for us, walking in with our breakfast and most importantly our JAVA! Then love knocked again and it was another friend with a camera in hand ready to take photos personally for as long as we needed. Thanks so much, Kareem! Around 8:00, we were whisked off in cars sent for us and taken to a hidden entrance into the HRC building, so as to avoid the press. What we found when we walked in was like a fantasy come true — our friends and family waiting for us. Friends, police officers, escorts, caterers, camera folks – everyone smiling and eyes so full of that something that said – “we are with you.” What a feeling!For almost two hours, the three couples and our attendants waited inside the green room for 10:00 to arrive. Though HRC had generously provided us with coffee, juice, water, and pastries, I think we were all too anxious to eat or drink much at all. Finally, the magic hour arrived and the first couple left to claim the sanctuary as their own. The rest of us stayed in the green room, watching each other’s ceremony on a short-circuit TV. And then our time came.Rev. Dwayne Johnson (Pastor of MCC DC), Candy’s brother, and Donna processed in before us as the voice of Rev. David North singing one of our favorite songs — I Love You Just the Way You Are – filled the sanctuary. Stepping arm-in-arm into the center aisle, we carried one another to where yesterday, today, and tomorrow would meet and our lives would be forever changed. As our ceremony moved too swiftly toward ending, we remember feeling a wave that lifted us. For a moment, we thought that wave was the anticipatory hope and dreams of not only me and Darlene, but of the countless people who desire equality. And then the words were spoken that now and forever will be remembered as the shot that was heard around the world – “By the authority vested in me by the District of Columbia, I now proclaim you legally married! Now no longer separate, but one.” I think we all won on March 9th. Better yet – Love and justice won!PS. Thanks to the management of Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse who, upon hearing that we were in the restaurant for lunch, honored us with a bottle of champagne. And thanks to the father of young lesbian who, sitting alone in the corner eating, gifted us with a round of whatever we wanted. You have just got to love our community.

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Sign the Petition Now!

Washington, D.C. has now joined five states in allowing same-sex couples to marry. Other states have legal protections for domestic partnerships, civil unions, or recognize same-sex spouses who have married in another state.

Yet all same-sex couples are still denied the full federal rights of marriage – hospital visitation, Social Security benefits, equal treatment under U.S. immigration laws, the right to take leave to care for a spouse, and more.

This civil rights struggle is simply about day-to-day life. Two people who are in committed, loving relationships should be able to protect each other with basic legal rights and safeguards.

More than a million people have already signed this petition. Sign below and help us reach 2 million!

After you’ve signed the petition, you’ll have an opportunity to send a note of congratulations to some of Washington’s newest newlywed couples!

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