Gay couples line up across Golden State

LOS ANGELES – Setting a new record in at least one large county, more than 1,601 marriage licenses were issued as of 5 p.m. Tuesday in California – more than three times the normal rate – as gay couples across the state embraced their first opportunity to legally wed, a Los Angeles Times survey found.

Based on reports from 56 of the state’s 58 counties, most were experiencing a surge in marriage license applications, if not the overwhelming crush of requests some expected. On an average June day, 460 marriage licenses are issued in the state.

San Diego County reported 201 licenses issued as of 4 p.m., surpassing the previous record, set on a Valentine’s Day. In Los Angeles, at least 250 licenses had been distributed, 88 percent more than for an entire day in June under normal circumstances. In Orange County, 121 marriage licenses were issued. The normal daily average is 30. In San Francisco, officials had taken appointments for 172 marriage licenses, compared with an average of 24 issued on a typical June day.

While the state totals so far were up sharply, the increases were not evenly distributed across all communities. In Los Angeles County, the biggest lines were in West Hollywood, a hub for the gay community in Southern California. At one point, about 200 couples were in line at a park converted to a marriage facility and equipped with an impromptu altar on steps outside an auditorium.

Actor George Takei of “Star Trek” fame and his partner were among the first wave of gay couples obtaining marriage licenses in West Hollywood.

“I think it’s a glorious California morning to make history,” said a beaming Takei, who stood with his mate, Brad Altman, before a clutch of reporters and TV cameras. The actor, who played Mr. Sulu, the starship Enterprise’s helmsman on the original “Star Trek” series, told the crowd: “Congratulations to all of us: May equality live long and prosper.”

But the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder’s office in East Los Angeles was deserted around noon; traffic into the office was down and officials had not issued a single same-sex marriage license. In South Los Angeles, the Florence-Firestone county clerk’s office issued just three same-sex marriage licenses by noon.

In addition to the licenses issued statewide Tuesday, a handful of counties issued more than 60 marriage licenses Monday night beginning at 5:01 p.m., when the state Supreme Court decision rejecting a ban on same sex marriages took effect.