--- description: A county clerk issued the first same-sex marriage license to a happy Arkansas couple Saturday a day after a marriage ban was overruled title: Arkansas Issues First Same-Sex Marriage License image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b9f74dfacf0ce78/69868ed406f2c1a6d532ed34/cfa84c6919be443bad9dea782cbcfe6f-0.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LGBT](/tag/lgbt/) ## LGBT Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Arkansas Issues First Same-Sex Marriage License After Ban Struck Down by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 10, 2014 4:05 PM CUT  Kristin Seaton, center, of Jacksonville, Ark., holds up her marriage license as she leaves the Carroll County Courthouse in Eureka Springs, Ark., with her partner, Jennifer Rambo, left, of Fort Smith, Ark. May 10, 2014, in Eureka Springs, Ark. Kristin Seaton, center, of Jacksonville, Ark., holds up her marriage license as she leaves the Carroll County Courthouse in Eureka Springs, Ark., with her partner, Jennifer Rambo, left, of Fort Smith, Ark. May 10, 2014, in Eureka Springs, Ark.Sarah Bentham—AP by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 10, 2014 4:05 PM CUT Arkansas [issued](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/gay-couples-arkansas-line-outside-courthouse "undefined") its first same-sex marriage license Saturday morning as couples lined up outside a local courthouse one day after a judge overturned the state’s gay marriage ban. Kristin Seaton and Jennifer Rambo of Forth Smith were the first Arkansas couple to receive a marriage license Saturday after Pulaski County judge Chris Piazza ruled the ban unconstitutional Friday. The couple has been together for four years. Seaton and Rambo headed for Eureka Springs just after hearing about Piazza’s ruling, the Associated Press reports. The couple arrived at 2 a.m. and slept in their Ford Focus, waking up every 30 minutes to make sure they were at the head of the line. When they saw another couple pull up, Seaton and Rambo bolted to the courthouse. “Thank God,” Rambo said when the license was issued. Seaton and Rambo and other couples lined up outside state courthouses Saturday despite not knowing whether they would actually receive marriage licenses, the AP reports. Arkansas voters overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the state constitution defining marriage as between a man and a woman in 2004. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that a law forbidding the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages was unconstitutional, a decision cited by lower court judges who have since struck down same-sex marriage bans in Michigan, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Texas. \[[_AP_](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/gay-couples-arkansas-line-outside-courthouse "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/95065/arkansas-same-sex-marriage-license-ban/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/95065/arkansas-same-sex-marriage-license-ban/"},"headline":"Arkansas Issues First Same-Sex Marriage License After Ban Struck Down","datePublished":"2014-05-10T16:05:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:46:08.538Z","description":"Arkansas issued its first same-sex marriage license to Kristin Seaton and Jennifer Rambo Saturday, a day after a federal judge struck down the state's constitutional amendment banning gay marriage","url":"https://time.com/95065/arkansas-same-sex-marriage-license-ban/","keywords":["LGBT"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b9f74dfacf0ce78/69868ed406f2c1a6d532ed34/cfa84c6919be443bad9dea782cbcfe6f-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b9f74dfacf0ce78/69868ed406f2c1a6d532ed34/cfa84c6919be443bad9dea782cbcfe6f-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Kristin Seaton, Jennifer Rambo","caption":"Kristin Seaton, Jennifer Rambo","creditText":"Sarah Bentham—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/lgbt/","name":"LGBT"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/95065/arkansas-same-sex-marriage-license-ban/","name":"Arkansas Issues First Same-Sex Marriage License After Ban Struck Down"}}]}] ```