Same-sex applications stream into Johnson County

Same-sex couples are lining up for marriage applications in Johnson County after a judge cleared the way for what could be the first gay marriage in Kansas.

District court clerk Sandy McCurdy said 42 same-sex couples had applied for licenses by late Thursday afternoon. McCurdy said the stream of applicants was “pretty steady” in the first full day after Johnson County Chief District Judge Kevin Moriarty ordered the county to begin issuing licenses to same-sex couples.

McCurdy says the earliest a same-sex couple could pick up a marriage license is Friday. The state requires a three-day waiting period before marriage licenses can be issued. Although Moriarty issued his ruling Wednesday, the county accepted one application Tuesday from a same-sex couple. Two women applied Wednesday, and all the others applied Thursday.