A Week for U.S. History Books: 12 Beautiful Gay Marriage Moments

 By 
Laura Vitto
 on 
A Week for U.S. History Books: 12 Beautiful Gay Marriage Moments
Sherwood Howard, left, kisses partner Nevada State Sen. Kelvin Atkinson after they got a marriage license at the Marriage License Bureau on Oct. 9, 2014, in Las Vegas. Credit: John Locher

This week, same-sex couples across the United States flocked to courthouses with hopes of securing marriage licenses and a place in history.

The Supreme Court refused to hear five states' appeals of pending gay marriage cases on Monday, essentially clearing the way for same-sex marriages to take place in Indiana, Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia and Wisconsin. Those states began issuing marriage certificates earlier this week. The ruling has also affected marriage equality in Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Colorado and Wyoming.

In other states, though, there has been some confusion. In Nevada, same-sex marriages got the greenlight on Tuesday due to a separate decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco; Idaho was also affected by the decision. But on Thursday, Nevada was forced to stop issuing same-sex marriage licenses for a period of time after Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy made a mistake. And only on Friday were same-sex couples finally given the OK to tie the knot in Idaho.

In Las Vegas, Democratic Sen. Kevin Atkinson and his partner Sherwood Howard became the first gay couple to wed in the county on Thursday, joining thousands of other happy couples. Take a look below.

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Addition reporting provided by the Associated Press.

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