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Mathews couple applies for license after same-sex marriage ban lifted

The Mathews County Circuit Court didn’t have a line of people waiting for marriage licenses on Tuesday—the day after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider appeals by states seeking to overturn federal court decisions legalizing same-sex marriage—but one couple did show up.
Bronwyn Hughes and Kat Sharp were the first couple in Mathews to apply for a marriage license since the state’s ban on same-sex marriage was overturned in the U.S. District Court in Norfolk in February—a decision later upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond.
Hughes said she was shocked when she read about the Supreme Court’s decision on Monday and had to read articles from several other sources before she could believe it. Sharp cried.
The two, who have been together for 12½ years and have an adopted daughter, had a commitment ceremony with friends and family on Gwynn’s Island in 2003 that they consider the real affirmation of their re...

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