Finally hitched in Arkansas

In January of this year, Linda Myers and Angie Shelby graciously let me into their home in Vilonia, a town of about 4,000 people just north of Little Rock, and talked to me candidly about what it was like to be raising a family as a same-sex couple in Arkansas.

Not only did the state register the lowest public support for same-sex marriage in the country, but at the time the state government refused to recognize or confer any legal benefits to their relationship, even as they had built a home together and were raising two children, Justin, 17, and Alli, 13. In 2004, Arkansas voters had overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

What struck me the most about Angie and Linda was how they had persevered in creating the most normal of lives for themselves and their children — they had a menagerie of pets, they went to church every Sunday, they batted back the occasional hostility from fellow Arkansans and seemed deeply devoted to each other and their family.

Of course, the change that has swept the country regarding acceptance and attitude toward same-sex marriage has come to Arkansas, too. Meyers and Shelby were part of a lawsuit challengingthe 2004 ban and last Friday they finally got their ruling: a Pulaski County judge struck it down, effective immediately. Soon after, some county clerks began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

When I checked in with Meyers earlier today, she told me that she and Angie were among them. This is what she told me, via e-mail (lightly edited for clarity):

We got married in Eureka Springs on Saturday! We were the 10th same-sex couple in Arkansas to do so.

It feels great—the amount of support and love from everyone has been tremendous. I haven't encountered one person in "real life" who had a negative thing to say (although I have read the negative to hateful comments on Facebook pages and news stories). Of course, the positives have been overwhelming.

We were expecting the case to go our way, especially after the last hearing. But we were also expecting an immediate stay, so Saturday and the days to follow have been a complete surprise. And now, we are even cautiously optimistic that the Supreme Court will not issue a stay, although we are prepared if they do.

It's been amazing, and I'm so glad to be a part of it. My daughter, Alli, came along with us to Eureka to get our license and marriage, which meant so much to us. We didn't know when we left in the morning whether they would issue licenses or not but they did after some initial difficulties.

It's still all kind of surreal and hasn't fully sunk in. We are enjoying it while it lasts.

As Meyers alludes to, it’s unclear how long the ban will stay lifted. Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has asked the state Supreme Court to issue a stay on the judge’s ruling until the case can be appealed, throwing a the marital status of the newlyweds into turmoil again. But that seems to be a risk that couples like Meyers and Shelby are willing to take after years of waiting for their shot to walk down the aisle.   

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