This came as great news to Grammy winner and singer Melissa Etheridge and her partner, Linda Wallem, who announced recently that they are going to officially tie the knot in the State of California. However, there is a waiting period for Etheridge -and all other same sex couples in California – of 25 days before any weddings can happen.
This waiting game exists because following the United States Supreme Court’s decision on same sex marriage, the SCOTUS decision will now return back to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals so that the stay on the case can be lifted. The Ninth Circuit has said that the release of this stay could take at least 25 days. Therefore, couples like Etheridge will not be able to get married immediately.
After the stay is lifted, marriage licenses will again be issued in California and civil marriages will be performed in state instantly. This is great news for same sex couples in California who may have been waiting for this U.S. Supreme Court decision to resume entering into legal marriages.
Curious about which states allow same sex marriage? Along with California – Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia, and five Native American tribes have legalized same-sex marriage.
Although same sex couples cannot get married in Pennsylvania, our Pennsylvania Family Law Attorneys can assist you with drafting a Domestic Partnership Agreement/Cohabitation Agreement, pursuing a Partition action to divide assets between a same sex couple, and seeking an adoption of a child as a same sex couple. Contact our LGBT Partner Rights Attorneys today!