In Contra Costa county, the first couple to be married this morning was County Clerk Stephen Weir and his partner of 18 years, John Hemm.
Weir waited all this time for the chance to apply for a marriage license in his own office.
"When I conduct wedding ceremonies from here on out I'm not just going to be politely sympathetic, I'm going to be really sympathetic to those people standing in front of me," Weir said.
Three members form the Kansas church of Pastor Fred Phelps protested outside but they were outnumbered by a larger group of about three dozen same-sex marriage supporters.
Police and bomb-sniffing dogs were on scene, but there were no incidents.
