10/21 – Midnight Weddings in Red Bank

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By John Burton
RED BANK – Two same-sex couples have already taken advantage of the recent court rulings and have been married in the borough.
According to Pam Borghi, borough clerk and registrar, two couples were married moments after midnight today and another couple has applied for a license.
The borough decided to begin processing applications for same-sex licenses shortly after midnight Friday, giving the couples the legally necessary 72-hour waiting period, allowing them to be married first thing today, as mandated by a recent judge’s ruling.
The state registrar last week, however, had asked that municipalities wait before issuing licenses, pending a state Supreme Court ruling on Gov. Chris Christie’s request for a stay on the court order until the Supreme Court issues its opinion. , “We figured there is more harm in not taking the application and holding people up,” Borghi said.
The Supreme Court on Friday declined to issue a stay and Christie has dropped the state’s legal challenge to it this morning.
One of the first couple’s to take their vows in the borough were Edward Zipprich, borough councilman and Democratic candidate for the 11th Assembly District race, and JP Nicolaides, who had participated in a civil union ceremony in 2011.