Making history in st. Martin Parish

PHOTO: Paige Bourque (left) and Kandace Guilbeaux proudly display the first marriage license issued to a same-sex couple in St. Martin Parish. Their wedding is set for Tuesday, July 7. (Submitted)

Paige Bourque and Kandace Guilbeaux Monday became the first same-sex couple to apply for a marriage license in St. Martin Parish under a sweeping new interpretation of the Constitution handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, June 26.
Some states, including Louisiana, balked at following the court’s directive. The Louisiana Clerks of Courts Association initially advised parish clerks against issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples until a follow-up ruling from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals made legalizing gay marriage the law of the land in specifically Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi, and after a 25-day rehearing period for Supreme Court decisions.
State Attorney General Buddy Caldwell has said he has no immediate plans to enforce the high court’s ruling making same-sex marriage legitimate in all 50 states.
But some parishes, beginning with Jefferson and including East Baton Rouge, Ascension, Iberia, East Feliciana, West Feliciana, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Mary, St. James, and of course St. Martin, began issuing licenses Monday.
Bourque and Guilbeaux, who have been together for four years, say they intend to get married on Tuesday, July 7.