First same-sex couples marry in Middle Georgia

Lauren and Paige Hightower made history Friday as the first same-sex couple to get married in Bibb County.

Their marriage followed a landmark Supreme Court ruling affirming marriage equality for gay couples nationwide.

“It’s been a plan for a long time,” Lauren said inside the Bibb County Courthouse. “As soon as we knew that the Supreme Court would rule during this term, I said, ‘As soon as the decision comes down, we’re going.’ It was never our goal to be first.”

The Georgia natives have been together for years and fell in love shortly after their first meeting. They were together for just six weeks before they tried to get married in Vancouver, British Columbia.

“We went to Vancouver 11 years ago, and we did actually get married,” Lauren said. “They sent a letter shortly thereafter saying that if you came from a state that didn’t recognize same-sex marriage, that Vancouver invalidated your marriage.”

They made another attempt, this time in California, but met a similar fate. The continued rejection was difficult, they said.

“I never thought I would see this in my lifetime -- not in Georgia,” Lauren said. “This day, we’ve been waiting on it for so long and it means so much.”

Paige has a 7-year-old son, but the red tape surrounding legal custody also was a challenge.

“I had to sign away my rights to him, and then we had to adopt him together,” Paige said. “It was kind of luck of the draw whether we would draw a judge that would grant that or not. It was tough.”

The Hightowers’ marriage followed a rally, hosted by the Georgia Equality and Freedom to Marry group, outside the courthouse. One Macon church, St. Francis Episcopal Church, scheduled a service at 7 p.m. Friday to celebrate the court decision.

At the courthouse, Brandi Smith used the moment to re-propose to her partner, Tiffany Rainer. The two have been together since 2004 and got married in Iowa in 2009.

“It’s great to have that document, but it hasn’t meant anything here,” Rainer said.

The Rev. Cameron Pennybacker of Diversity Assets, a nonprofit group in Atlanta and Macon, commemorated the celebrating couples.

“Love is a precious and blessed commodity, blessed by God, and it’s finally time that our laws caught up with that reality,” he said. “So, let us celebrate today. Let us realize there is more work to come for equal rights in all forms. May this give us great courage to take the next steps forward.”

In Houston County, 28-year-old Allison Crow and her fiancee, Brittney Pulliam, 24, drove to the courthouse in Perry hours after hearing of the court’s ruling.

“They said we were the last in the door, but they said we were the first same-sex couple to apply for a marriage license in Houston County,” Crow said. “It was great.”

Afterward, Crow said they went to eat dinner with family and friends to celebrate.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Crow said, “but it’s definitely something we’ve been waiting for.”

Crow, of Warner Robins, said she met Pulliam online about two years ago.

Within two weeks, the women had moved in together.

They’ve talked about marriage for a while and considered traveling to a state where same-sex marriage was legal, Crow said.

After learning of the court’s ruling Friday, the women considered waiting until July 8 to marry. Excited, they piled in a car with Pulliam’s two biological children and headed for the courthouse.

“We were just really excited,” Crow said.

Writer Amy Leigh Womack contributed to this report. To contact writer David Schick, call 744-4382.

This story was originally published June 26, 2015 at 1:13 PM with the headline "First same-sex couples marry in Middle Georgia ."