Gordon MacLeod, left, and Steve Koreis, 52, were the first couple in Lewis County to file for same-sex marriage as a new state law took effect Thursday. The pair have been together for a dozen years, and plan to marry in their Centralia church.
Just one couple awaited as the Lewis County Auditor’s office opened Thursday morning, while same-sex partners waited in record-breaking numbers in other parts of the state to obtain marriage licenses as the state’s new same-sex marriage law took effect.
“It’s a about time,” said Gordon MacLeod, 51, and Steve Koreis, 52, in unison, as the Centralia couple became the first in Lewis County to make their partnership official. The two have been together for 12 years.
The two grooms joked that neither had to be the bride as they filled out the state’s brand new gender-neutral forms.
“There wasn’t a place for me to put that I’m a Republican, though,” Koreis quipped.
The couple’s longtime friend, Karri Muir of Chehalis, came to witness as the two men raised their right hands and took oaths to one another.
“They’re so committed and loving,” she said.
The couple received a marriage packet including their licence and a certificate, which can be signed by a pastor or judge to officiate the union in as little as three or up to 60 days. Koreis, a self-described fiscal conservative, said they were happy that the $64 fee would support the local economy.
“It was important for us to make this public declaration of our commitment right here,” he said.
Though nearly 70 percent in Lewis County voted against Referendum 74, which narrowly passed statewide, allowing same-sex couples to marry as of Thursday, the couple said they think the community will eventually come around.
“People are going to be surprised at the absence of a homopocolypse,” Koreis said. “The fact that we’re able to marry doesn’t change traditional marriage.”
The couple, who consider themselves members of the Christian faith, will have a wedding ceremony on Feb. 2 in Centralia.
“Ultimately, in the state of Washington, it’s legal for me to make a public declaration of my love for Gordy,” Koreis said.
Washington now joins eight other states — New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and Maryland — and the District of Columbia in allowing same-sex partners marriage rights.
“It shows voters really understand what equality is,” MacLeod said.
A second couple came into the auditor’s office shortly after Koreis and MacLeod. After four years together, John Zinner and Voravee Jittipsopa of Mossyrock became the second gay couple in Lewis County to receive their marriage licence.
“The world’s changed,” Zinner said. “I think love should be recognized wherever it is. It’s good for humanity.”
The partners, who will marry in a Seattle church along with 20 other same-sex couples Sunday, also said they think Lewis County will come to accept same-sex unions.
“I want people here to open their eyes and open their hearts,” Jittipsopa said.
The Lewis County Auditor’s office had processed three same-sex marriage licences as of early Thursday afternoon.
“We don’t discriminate any longer on same-sex marriage,” said Lewis County Auditor Gary Zandell. “That doesn’t change your mind or your mores.”
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