First Same-Sex Marriages Take Place In Guam

Last week, a federal judge in Guam ruled that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision on same-sex marriage applied to the U.S. Territory making marriage equality the law of land in the U.S. Territory.

Today, the first same-sex marriages took place.

From ABC News:

"It's my privilege to officiate at this. Do you take each other to share your lives, to promise to take good care of one another for as long as you live?" Public Health Director James Gillan asked.

"I do," said Deasia Johnson of Killeen, Texas.

"I do," answered her bride, Nikki Dismuke of New Orleans.

"By the power vested in me by the laws of Guam, I pronounce you married," Gillan said before the two military members kissed to solemnize their vows.

With those words, in a ceremony that lasted less than a minute in Gillan's office, Johnson and Dismuke became the first gay couple to be legally married in a U.S. territory.

Loretta M. Pangelinan, 28, and Kathleen M. Aguero, 29, sued to overturn the territory's law after being denied a marriage application in April. They based their lawsuit on the prevailing opinion from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which had approved gay marriage in western U.S. states. Guam falls under the jurisdiction of the 9th Circuit Court.