Same-sex couples flock to California courthouses for marriage licenses

LOS ANGELES, July 2 (UPI) -- Gay couples are flocking to California courthouses for marriage licenses following rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court and an appeals panel, officials said.

Lee Conger, 56, and John Wingler, 66, of Silver Lake said they "freaked out" when they learned a California appeals court had reinstated same-sex marriage weeks before anyone anticipated, the Los Angeles Times reported.

West Hollywood, which has the highest concentration of gay residents in Los Angeles County, put up road signs along Santa Monica and Robertson boulevards Monday directing drivers to "wedding parking."

City staffers set up awnings and tested wedding music over loud speakers.

County Recorder-Registrar Dean Logan deputized members of the Los Angeles City Council to officiate at marriages.

Rey Ramos, 43 and Rob Larson, 53 of Pasadena were standing in line in Beverly Hills when they met a rabbi who offered to marry them on the spot.

"All of these years of marching in the street and writing to Assembly people -- it's finally done," said Larsen, a retired California Highway Patrol officer.

The U.S. Supreme Court found the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional last week and then declined to rule on an appeal of a California court decision that struck down state ballot measure banning same-sex marriage.