After 40 years together, Clark County men will be first in line for marriage license

[Crow]

As county offices across the state prepare to issue marriage-license applications to same-sex couples when the state's gay-marriage law takes effect Thursday, some counties have already selected the couple to receive the first license.

Paul Harris, right, has been issuing marriage licenses to other people for decades. He and partner James Griener will be in the Clark County Auditor's Office to get their own license Thursday.

Paul Harris manages the section of the Clark County Auditor's Office that issues marriage licenses. But as a gay man in a committed relationship for nearly 40 years, he's not been able to get one for himself.

Until now.

At 8 a.m. Thursday, Harris and his partner, James Griener, will obtain the first of the marriage licenses Clark County issues to same-sex couples.

The two met in New York in 1973, at the dawn of the gay-rights movement, when Harris was living in Brooklyn and Griener was pursuing a career in show business. Both now in their 60s, they are among thousands of gay couples expected to gain licenses across the state when the state's same-sex-marriage law takes effect Thursday.

After decades of handing out licenses to other people, Harris, manager of marriage license and recording, is ecstatic that he can finally get one to marry his partner.

"I guess it still hasn't quite hit me yet,"said Harris. He was among hundreds of gay couples who married in Oregon's Multnomah County in 2004 when that county decided to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. A judge soon ordered the county to stop and Oregon's Supreme Court later nullified the marriages.

"I guess once I apply and get one, it will be real ... and permanent," Harris said.

Several other large counties have also preselected those who will receive the first marriage licenses issued under the new law. Among them are Col. Grethe Cammermeyer in Island County and Maj. Margaret Witt in Spokane County. Both are decorated military veterans who fought for years to help end the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, and each will marry her longtime partner in private ceremonies later in the month.

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[GoVegan]

Interesting. California is supposed to be liberal but so far we have banned gay marriage, marijuana and the labeling of GMO food.

[Crow]

Interesting. California is supposed to be liberal but so far we have banned gay marriage, marijuana and the labeling of GMO food.

The I-522 campaign is still out there gathering signatures... If they can qualify for the ballot, we'll get to vote on mandatory GMO labeling on the next election cycle. We've already overwhelmingly approved same-sex marriage and legalised cannabis... I believe very few Washingtonians will disagree with an initiative that seeks to inform the people what they're ingesting (i.e. genetic modification). Just a gut feeling............. I wish the campaign best of luck.

[GoVegan]

I don't understand how it lost in California. No one wanted to ban GMO food, just label it.

[halocog]

The GMO labeling thing was a textbook example of how easy the general public is to manipulate. Throw around some misinformation in commercials. That's it.

[Crow]

The GMO labeling thing was a textbook example of how easy the general public is to manipulate. Throw around some misinformation in commercials. That's it.

Yeah, the opposition went all out to smear bullshit about the proposition, and the campaign didn't adequately defend itself.

That shite might fly in California, but it wouldn't fly here....!!

[bpc720]

Making gmo labels would be awesome but not necessary. I buy only organic and non gmo food when i grocery shop and the brands that dont use gmos are very proud of it and put ads on the product saying " non-gmo!". So its already easy to tell which products use them and which dont

[Crow]

Seeing as you all hijacked my thread .............

From the I-522 Campaign..........

Great news! As of this week we are confident in letting everyone know that our signature count is at 280,000. We're super motivated moving forward and believe that we will accomplish our goal of turning in the necessary amount of signatures to the legislature.

The countdown has begun. We still have three weeks to gather signatures and are confident that with everyone's involvement we will be successful in getting 40,000 more signatures, putting us at our goal of 320,000. YAY!

Now is a great time to remind the friends and family you've shared petitions with to keep mailing them in. If you have sheets that are even half full, please send them in as early as possible so we can continue to update our count.

[Crow]

Another update for Vegan:

Great news - After having spent the majority of the past two weeks counting and sorting we are very pleased to announce that our signature count now stands at 313,000! Awesome job everyone. Your continued hard work and support is what is going to lead us to the finish line. Keep up the great work and do not forget to get your petitions in to us. Let's keep the ball rolling and make the count even higher.

Initiative campaigns are required to gather 241,153 signatures. The Secretary of State's office recommends 320,000 signatures (to provide a buffer for invalid signatures).

[OregonNative]

Good for these guys. If they want to be married, why not?