For a Day, Gay Marriage Is Legal in Iowa

DES MOINES, Aug. 31 -- Two men sealed Iowa's first legal same-sex marriage with a kiss Friday morning, less than 24 hours after a judge threw out the state's ban.

A couple of hours later, though, Polk County Judge Robert Hanson stayed his own ruling, pending an appeal by the county to the state Supreme Court.

Sean Fritz and Tim McQuillan were among the lucky few to get their application through.

The approval process for marriage licenses normally takes three business days, but Fritz and McQuillan took advantage of a loophole that allows couples to skip the waiting period if they pay a $5 fee and get a judge to sign a waiver.

On Friday morning, the Rev. Mark Stringer declared the two legally married in a wedding on a Unitarian minister's front lawn in Des Moines.

"This is it. We're married. I love you," Fritz told McQuillan after the ceremony.

Hanson ruled Thursday that Iowa's 1998 Defense of Marriage Act, which allowed marriage only between a man and a woman, violated the constitutional rights of due process and equal protection of six gay couples who had sued.

State House Minority Leader Christopher Rants (R) said the ruling illustrates the need for a state constitutional amendment banning such marriages.

"I can't believe this is happening in Iowa," Rants said. "I guarantee you there will be a vote on this issue come January," when the legislature convenes, he said.