Couples, country begin making wedding plans

Irish celebrate same-sex marriage legalization.

DUBLIN — Gay couples of Ireland woke up Sunday in what felt like a nation reborn, with dreams of wedding plans dancing in their heads.

The new reality was sinking in after the Irish people voted by a surprisingly strong 62 percent margin to enshrine the right to same-sex marriage in the country’s constitution — the first time a nation had done so by referendum.

Thousands of revel- ers celebrated until dawn after the result was announced Saturday night.

The Justice Department confirmed Sunday that it plans to draft a marriage bill this week that will permit those taking vows in civil ceremonies to choose either to be “husband and wife” or “spouses of each other.” It will ensure that no church is required to perform a gay marriage, a key demand of the dominant Catholic Church and also the main Protestant and Muslim communities in Ireland.

Deputy Prime Minister Joan Burton said she expects the bill to become law by early July. Because existing law requires a minimum three-month notice for any civil marriages, the first same-sex weddings cannot happen until the fall.

For Irish Sen. Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan, their day has nearly come. Since 2003 they have fought for legal recognition of their Canadian marriage, suffering setbacks and delays as they sued the state all the way to the Supreme Court.

“For so long, I’ve been having to dig in my heels and say ... Well, we ARE married. I’m a married woman!” said Zappone, a Seattle native who settled with her Irish spouse in Dublin three decades ago.