Queer bookstore to hold LGBTQ+ ‘wedding marathon’ amid SCOTUS same-sex marriage decision
A bookstore in Massachusetts is launching a “wedding marathon” later this month. (Stock Image/Getty Images)
A bookstore in Massachusetts is launching a "wedding marathon" later this month. (Stock Image/Getty Images)
A queer-owned bookstore, All She Wrote Books in Somerville, Massachusetts, is set to hold an LGBTQ+ “wedding marathon” as SCOTUS considers hearing same-sex marriage case.
The US Supreme Court was last week formally asked to hear an appeal, presented by former county clerk Kim Davis, which would explicitly ask it to overturn same-sex marriage rights in the country.
Davis, who spent six days behind bars when she refused to grant a gay couple a marriage license in 2015, is urging the Supreme Court to overturn its 2015 landmark equal marriage ruling Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalised same-sex marriage across the United States.
If SCOTUS agrees to hear the case, it could represent a threat to federal protections for same-sex marriage, on the grounds that it is unconstitution
The petition was filed last month and has since garnered a warning from former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who urged LGBTQ+ couples to wed as soon as they can.
Now, a queer-owned bookshop is taking precautions to ensure that as many LGBTQ+ couples who wish to marry can do so before lawmakers have the chance to reverse Obergefell v. Hodges.
After previously launching itself as a queer wedding venue at the start of this year, All She Wrote Books in Sommerville, Massachusetts, is now hosting a one-day only wedding marathon for LGBTQ+ couples.
Aptly titled “Love Can’t Wait Another Day”, the event takes place at the end of the month on 30 August. It offers multiple couples the chance to tie the knot “without the cost or delay of a traditional wedding”.
“We can’t believe it’s come to this, but the clock could be ticking on LGBTQIA+ marriage rights,” the bookshop wrote on Instagram.
“We’re not interested in waiting to see what happens and neither is our community. That’s why we’re creating space for folks to say ‘I do’ ASAP.”
Owner Christina Pascucci-Ciampa is now rolling out packages for the wedding marathon in-store.
The $500 (£370) package includes a private one-hour ceremony with a Justice of the Peace (a public official who can perform marriages), professional images, cupcakes, an optional bubbly toast, a wedding gift from the store, and, importantly, information on replicating legal documents should the right to equal marriage be overturned.
Spouses-to-be are able to bring up to 12 guests to witness their vows, but can also opt for an intimate ceremony for just the two of them. “What matters is making it official while we still can,” Pascucci-Ciampa wrote in the post.
Pascucci-Ciampa told PinkNews: “We felt we needed to do something, and let our community know that they have options.
“Because there is much at stake right now in this country, we as a community need to be as proactive as we can be, given the onslaught of rights being taken away.”
Those wishing to marry during the marathon are urged to secure their place via the form here, and must have obtained a marriage license prior to the event. Marriage license details for Somerville can be found here.
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