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Tie the knot at PensacolaPride's mass same-sex wedding

June 4, 2015
/ Louis Cooper
/ community-dashboard

In celebration of the historic legalization of same-sex marriage in Florida, the organizers of PensacolaPRIDE are looking for couples interested in getting married at the annual gay pride festival on June 20. In years past, PensacolaPRIDE included a symbolic “Wedding of the Hearts” in which couples made public commitments to each other without the benefit of legal sanction. However, following a lengthy court battle, same-sex marriage became legal in Florida on Jan. 6, 2015. “Now that marriage equality is the law in Florida, offering a public and legal marriage provides an increased level of visibility and understanding that same gender couples are going forward with entering into something beyond a symbolic display,” said Doug Landreth, president of Gay Grassroots of Northwest Florida, which hosts PensacolaPRIDE. "Gay and Lesbian couples — like straight couples have had the right to do for so many years — are now making thoughtful and long lasting decisions about their relationships, regarding the 1,000-plus rights and responsibilities that come with marriage.” [sidebar] To get legally married at PensacolaPRIDE on June 20, couples must: Complete a state required 4-hour pre-marital class on Tuesday, June 9, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Cost is $30, taught by Rev. Jim Merritt at Holy Cross Metropolitan Community Church. To register or for more information, call (850) 469-9090, email [email protected] or go to www.HolyCrossMCC.com. The deadline to sign up and pay for the class is Monday, June 8. Obtain a marriage license from the county clerk’s office at the Marriage Division, Second Floor, M.C. Blanchard Judicial Building, 190 W Government St., Pensacola; (850) 595-4300. Marriage license hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. When applying for a marriage license:

Present one of the following: valid driver’s license, military I.D., alien registration card or passport.
Know your Social Security number or alien registration number.
Know month, date and year previous marriage ended, if previously married.
Cost of License is $61 with pre-marital counseling (must bring certificate of completion of course). Cost for each additional certified copy of marriage license is $3.

Inform PensacolaPRIDE at [email protected] once you have completed the class and received your marriage license, including both spouses’ names along with a contact phone number.

For more information about PensacolaPRIDE, go to http://ggnwfl.com/pcolapride.html. [/sidebar] The mass wedding is part of the Festival in the Park, set for Saturday, June 20, at Seville Square in downtown Pensacola. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., kicking off a week of PensacolaPRIDE events, including public forums, educational and entertainment events and the Celebration Ball banquet. The ceremony will be conducted in a way that is respectful of all faith beliefs. Couples who wish to participate, however, are required to take the pre-marital counseling course offered by Rev. Jim Merritt on Tuesday, June 9. Merritt, senior pastor at Holy Cross Metropolitan Community Church, will co-officiate the mass wedding with Rev. Julie Kain, of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Pensacola. Merritt said his church – which is made up predominately of members of the LGBT community – has performed 30 same-sex marriages since they became legal on Jan. 6, with more planned in 2015 and 2016. "I am looking forward to my first PensacolaPRIDE,” said Merritt, who moved to Pensacola last fall. “I'm very happy to provide this service to the community, and I sincerely hope our Pride couples will approach their weddings carefully. We'll make this another day of celebration.” Kain is returning to the event after leading the "Wedding of Hearts" in 2014. "After being the officiant at the symbolic mass wedding last summer, I am delighted to be able this month to co-officiate for a legal ceremony," Kain said. "The Unitarian Universalist Association is one of the few religions that has ordained openly LGBTQ people for many years, and we have publicly supported same-sex marriage since 1984." The counseling course – which cost $30 per couple – will cover a variety of topics, including the basics of relationships, conflict management, financial matters, crisis management, intimacy, issues around children/families, preparing for the ceremony, legal concerns, religious/spiritual issues and more. The course meets the state requirement for pre-marital counseling, which allows couples to forego a three-day waiting period between getting a marriage license and getting married. It also provides a discount on the license. Merritt said the couples at the mass wedding must take his course so he can meet and interact with them personally. “I have always taken marriages and holy unions very seriously,” he said. "I like to spend time with the couples I marry. The mass wedding venue is not my favorite, however during a time of celebration such as this, I am willing to officiate for those couples who complete the minimum requirement of the marriage preparation course."

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Tie the knot at PensacolaPride's mass same-sex wedding

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