Texas issues its first gay marriage license

Two Austin women were legally married on Thursday morning. A Travis County judge ordered the county clerk to issue a marriage license to the couple, who have been together for nearly 31 years.

Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant were denied a marriage license eight years ago, but a lawyer petitioned their case, and District Judge David Wahlberg ordered county clerk Dana DeBeavoir to give them the license. In the petition, the couple said that not having a marriage license was causing them "irreparable harm," because Goodfriend has been diagnosed with and treated for ovarian cancer.

"It's very exciting," Bryant told The Austin American-Statesman before the wedding, which the couple's daughters attended. "My little one was worried about missing her history class. I said, 'We'll be making history.'"

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The news comes two days after a Travis County judge ruled Texas' gay marriage ban unconstitutional.