PHOTOS: Montana's Same-Sex Marriages

Same-sex couples won the right to marry starting Wednesday in Big Sky Country.

Sunnivie Brydum

Sunnivie is the managing editor of The Advocate, and an award-winning journalist whose passion is covering the politics of equality and elevating the unheard stories of our community. Originally from Colorado, she and her spouse now live in Los Angeles, along with their three fur-children: dogs Luna and Cassie Doodle, and "Meow Button" Tilly.

Read Full Bio

Sunnivie Brydum

November 20 2014 3:38 PM EST

November 17 2015 5:28 AM EST

sunnivie

Sorry to interrupt...
But we wanted to take a moment to thank you for reading. Your support makes original LGBTQ+ reporting possible. Help us hold Trump accountable.

One-time Monthly

$19.67 $50 Other

$5 $19.67 $50

After a federal judge struck down Montana's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage Wednesday, Montana became the latest U.S. state to embrace marriage equality.

The Washington Blade reports that the state's Republican attorney general, Tim Fox, has announced his intention to appeal U.S. District Judge Brian Morris's ruling -- though that appeal is unlikely to be successful. Montana is encompassed in the federal Ninth Circuit, which has already issued several pro-equality rulings in neighboring states and previously denied Fox's request to stay Morris's ruling while his office appeals. Nevertheless, Fox pledged to continue pursuing his appeal until a definitive ruling is issued by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Montana's Democratic governor, Steve Bullock, took a decidedly different tone than his top legal adviser.

"[Wednesday]'s decision ensures we are closer to fulfilling our promise of freedom, dignity, and equality for all Montanans," Bullock said in a statement. "It is a day to celebrate our progress, while recognizing the qualities that bind us as Montanans: a desire to make a good life for ourselves and our families, while providing greater opportunities to the next generation."

Making good on his promise to implement the decision as swiftly as possible, counties across Montana began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples Wednesday, with some clerks manually whiting out the words "husband and wife" and "man and woman" on the marriage application and licenses for same-sex couples, replacing those terms with gender-neutral language.