Lesbian Moms First to Get Washington Marriage Licenses

• Politics and Law • milestone, washington

Congratulations to all of the same-sex couples in Washington State who will be able to get marriage licenses starting today. In several counties (including the most populous, King County), the first to do so will be lesbian moms.

In King County, the first couple to get a license will be Jane Abbott Lighty and Pete-e Petersen, 77 and 85 years young, respectively. They have been together 35 years and are not just mothers but grandmothers, notes the West Seattle Herald.

In Island County, the first couple will be Army National Guard Colonel Grethe Cammermeyer and her partner Diane Divelbess, Out Military News reports. Cammermeyer, a decorated Vietnam veteran, is famous for her fight against the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy (and for being portrayed by Meryl Streep in the movie Serving in Silence). She has four sons from a previous marriage.

Air Force Major Margaret ‘Margie’ Witt, who also challenged DADT, and Laurie Johnson will be the first to get licenses in Spokane County. Johnson has three children from a previous marriage, reports the Spokesman-Review.

Among the first in King County will also be Amanda Beane and Anne Bryson-Beane, accompanied by their seven adopted children. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer quotes Bryson-Beane as saying, “Each of our adopted children understands that you can call someone family all you want, but until the court says it’s forever, you are not seen as a ‘real’ family:  When I marry my wife, for the first time our family will be seen by everyone for what we are—a forever family.”

Here’s to all the families whose forever begins today.

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