?The way I look at it is that any two people in love who want to spend the rest of their lives together deserve to have a marriage,? said Andrussier Friday, two days after the Lansdale resident made history by performing a marriage ceremony for the first same-sex couple to be issued a marriage license in the state of Pennsylvania.
Andrussier filed the license in Norristown after a lesbian couple hired him as their wedding officiant, following the announcement by Register of Wills D. Bruce Hanes that he would issue a marriage license to any same-sex couple who wanted one.
?I?m glad they were able to reach me and that I could help them out,? he said. ?I didn?t realize it would escalate into what it did.?
The wedding was held at an undisclosed location in North Wales. Afterward, Andrussier said, he hurried to Norristown to file the paperwork personally, rather than putting it in the mail, because he did not know if or when Hanes? decision would be overturned.
The nondenominational minister wasn?t sure how things would unfold in the courts for the couple, but he was glad to participate in the exchange of vows between the two women.
?A marriage in Pennsylvania has to be between a man and a woman because there?s no documentation or wording stating what a civil union would be, so it would just be between two partners,? he said. ?A lot of it has to do with the wording in the bylaws of the state. So a commitment union would be two partners. I?m not a politician so I really don?t have any political view on this. I just happened to be available to perform the ceremony for them as the wedding officiant.?
Andrussier?s website (www.caweddingceremonies.com) notes that he creates ?each wedding ceremony custom fit to each and every couple and their desires and needs. As a result of this, a high percentage of my business is from referrals from friends or family who have participated in, or attended a wedding I have written and officiated.?
Business is now booming with referrals Andrussier may not have expected prior to last Wednesday.
?I?m willing to marry anybody as long as they have the marriage certificate and they want to spend the rest of their life together,? he said. ?If I have any more same-sex couples come to me I would marry them in a heartbeat as long as they had the license and were ready to go. I know there were 16 couples who were issued licenses and I have been contacted by a few who wanted to know if I was available on certain dates, but nothing?s been contracted.? Continued...
Whenever they decide to set the date, no couple will ever be denied the wedding ceremony of their dreams, Andrussier said.?If two people love each other enough to spend the rest of their lives together I feel they should be allowed to do it,? he said. ?There should be no labeling. It seems anymore for everybody in this country everybody has to have a label or a tag ... whether you?re from another country, race, religion, whatever. We?re getting away from what the country was founded on.?
Calls went out to a few dozen Montgomery County ministers and priests at churches of all faiths on Friday, asking where they stood on the same-sex marriage debate.
Andrussier was the only one who responded.
LANSDALE ? When Craig Andrussier, an independent ordained minister, stands in front of two men or two women who want to be united in marriage, he sees something many other people of the cloth might not.?The way I look at it is that any two people in love who want to spend the rest of their lives together deserve to have a marriage,? said Andrussier Friday, two days after the Lansdale resident made history by performing a marriage ceremony for the first same-sex couple to be issued a marriage license in the state of Pennsylvania.
Andrussier filed the license in Norristown after a lesbian couple hired him as their wedding officiant, following the announcement by Register of Wills D. Bruce Hanes that he would issue a marriage license to any same-sex couple who wanted one.
?I?m glad they were able to reach me and that I could help them out,? he said. ?I didn?t realize it would escalate into what it did.?
The wedding was held at an undisclosed location in North Wales. Afterward, Andrussier said, he hurried to Norristown to file the paperwork personally, rather than putting it in the mail, because he did not know if or when Hanes? decision would be overturned.
The nondenominational minister wasn?t sure how things would unfold in the courts for the couple, but he was glad to participate in the exchange of vows between the two women.
?A marriage in Pennsylvania has to be between a man and a woman because there?s no documentation or wording stating what a civil union would be, so it would just be between two partners,? he said. ?A lot of it has to do with the wording in the bylaws of the state. So a commitment union would be two partners. I?m not a politician so I really don?t have any political view on this. I just happened to be available to perform the ceremony for them as the wedding officiant.?
Andrussier?s website (www.caweddingceremonies.com) notes that he creates ?each wedding ceremony custom fit to each and every couple and their desires and needs. As a result of this, a high percentage of my business is from referrals from friends or family who have participated in, or attended a wedding I have written and officiated.?
Business is now booming with referrals Andrussier may not have expected prior to last Wednesday.
?I?m willing to marry anybody as long as they have the marriage certificate and they want to spend the rest of their life together,? he said. ?If I have any more same-sex couples come to me I would marry them in a heartbeat as long as they had the license and were ready to go. I know there were 16 couples who were issued licenses and I have been contacted by a few who wanted to know if I was available on certain dates, but nothing?s been contracted.?
Whenever they decide to set the date, no couple will ever be denied the wedding ceremony of their dreams, Andrussier said.
?If two people love each other enough to spend the rest of their lives together I feel they should be allowed to do it,? he said. ?There should be no labeling. It seems anymore for everybody in this country everybody has to have a label or a tag ... whether you?re from another country, race, religion, whatever. We?re getting away from what the country was founded on.?
Calls went out to a few dozen Montgomery County ministers and priests at churches of all faiths on Friday, asking where they stood on the same-sex marriage debate.
Andrussier was the only one who responded.
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