LIMERICK - One of the women who took part Wednesday in the first same-sex marriage ceremony in Pennsylvania history is a graduate of Southern Columbia Area High School, the (Bloomsbvurg) Press Enterprise reported Friday.
Alicia Terrizzi. 45, and her longtime partner, Loreen Bloodgood, 40, were married after Montgomery County Register of Wills Bruce Hanes began issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. Hanes based his decision on the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that voided parts of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Terrizzi and Bloodgood decided to get married right away after learning that the three-day waiting period could be waived. They were married in a small ceremony that was attended by their two children. The family then left on a scheduled vacation to the Poconos.
Terrizzi and Bloodgood have been together 17 years, the newspaper reported. Terrizzi, a native of Catawissa and a graduate of Bloomsburg University, is a math teacher in the Boyertown School District.
Terrizzi told the Press Enterprise that the couple started to feel discriminated against when several states legalized same-sex marriage. She believes the issuance of licenses to same-sex couples in Montgomery County will have a "domino effect" in the rest of Pennsylvania.
Even if their marriage is voided, Terrizzi said she and Bloodgood would be "no further ahead or behind" than they were last week.