State reports 2,500 same gender marriages

Nearly 2,500 same gender couples were married in Washington between December 6, 2012 and March 31, 2013, according to a June 6 report from the Washington Department of Health.

Same gender marriages represented more than 20 percent of the 11,661 marriages that occurred in Washington during this 16 week period.

Same gender marriages occurred in 35 of Washington’s 39 counties during this time period, which began on the first day same sex couples could legally get a marriage license in the state. More same gender couples were married in King County than in any other county; one-third of the marriages performed in King County during this time period were same gender marriages.

Wahkiakum, Ferry, Asotin, and Garfield counties reported no same sex marriages so far.

More female couples married than male couples; 63 percent of all same gender marriages were among female couples. Same gender couples may be more likely to travel to Washington to marry. In 14 percent of same gender marriages, both spouses were residents of another state. Among opposite sex couples, both spouses were from another state in only four percent of marriages.