News

John and Sheldon Goldstein (in rainbow vests) participate in a group same-sex wedding

Jan. 6 in Delray Beach.

Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Marcie Hall and Chris Porter of Delray Beach, together more than 30 years, were married.

Financial planner Suze Orman visits with Karen Dominquez Oltz (left)

and Kandice Dominquez Oltz of Boynton Beach.

Court personnel stamp marriage licenses.

INSET BELOW: Bock

By Rich Pollack

    History was made in Delray Beach at exactly 12:45 a.m. on Jan. 6.
    It was at that moment when Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller Sharon Bock told 81 couples — 162 people and dozens of their friends and family members — that the moment they had waited years for had finally arrived.
    “Now, by the authority vested in me as clerk and comptroller and under the laws of the great state of Florida, along with the eyes and hearts of your families and friends, I pronounce you legally married,” Bock said. “May you be blessed with a lifetime of health, wealth, love and time to share a long and happy life together.”
    With those words came cheers amidst the tears, and with those words came a recognition many had long sought.
    “On this day, Jan. 6, 2015, our world will change,” Bock said, as she began what might have been the first same-sex group wedding in the state of Florida. “It is my honor … to  officiate this ceremony where we celebrate for the first time in history true marriage equality in Florida. Marriage has now been recognized as a fundamental freedom and a basic civil right of humankind.”
    Before the first week in which same-sex marriage became legal in Florida was over, Bock’s office had issued 171 same-sex marriage licenses.
    Some of those who took out their licenses chose to celebrate in private ceremonies, but for those who had come to the South County Courthouse late that Monday night, it was a time to celebrate with others.
    “This is a historic event,” said Marcie Hall, 56, of Delray Beach who came to the courthouse to marry her partner of 33 years, Chris Porter. “To come here and after 33 years, you’re finally married, I can’t put it into words. It just made me cry.”
    Both Hall and Porter believe that the path they helped to clear will prevent others following behind from facing the struggles they endured.
    “Now, there is hope that it will be easier for the younger generations,” Porter said.
    While the politics and ideological tug-of-war over the issue of same-sex marriage had filled the news pages and airwaves, those issues took a back seat during the group ceremony and during the hour and a half before in which members of the clerk’s staff issued close to 100 licenses.
    Instead, what seemed to dominate was a sense of joy, a sense of celebration of changing times and an air of true commitment.  
    “The electricity that’s in this room tonight is something you’ll never get again in this courthouse,” said John Goldstein of Boca Raton, joined by his partner, Shel Goldstein. The two had been legally married previously in another state but wanted to have their partnership legally recognized in Florida.
    “This really is history in the making,” John Goldstein said.
    Along with balloons and flowers, there was also a celebrity appearance that helped make the event even more festive. Television show host Suze Orman had come to the courthouse — along with her partner — to support friends who were getting married. She posed several times with other couples, including Kandice Dominquez Oltz and Karen Dominquez Oltz of Boynton Beach.
    “Everyone here is so happy,” Kandice said. “There are just so many people smiling.”
    The group wedding drew couples from throughout South Florida, with several from Broward County making the trip to Delray Beach and couples from as far north as Port St. Lucie deciding to make the drive.
    Bock said her office chose the South County Courthouse for the group ceremony because it was easier to provide security and because of the convenience of a parking garage right across the street from the building.
    As they headed out after the ceremony, the couples were invited to have a piece of one of two wedding cakes provided by the Clerk’s Office. Fittingly, one cake was adorned with figurines of two grooms and the other with two brides.