Weddings, marriage licenses soar at county clerk's office in wake of Prop. 8 ruling

The Sonoma County Clerk's Office is doing a brisk business in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling restoring same-sex marriage rights in California, performing five times more weddings during the first two weeks of July than during the same period a year earlier.

From July 1, when the local clerk's office resumed issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples and performing weddings for gay and lesbian pairs, through July 12, county personnel performed 104 wedding ceremonies, compared to 21 in 2012, said Chief Deputy County Clerk Deva Proto.

It also issued 275 marriage licenses from July 1 to July 12, more than twice the 126 that were issued during the same period a year earlier, she said.

The statistics don't distinguish same-sex couples from heterosexual couples, but a large number of people coming in seeking one or the other have been same-sex couples, Proto said.

"We have been busy, but steady," she said.