Della Licious, also known as Branden Blaettner, married three LGBTQ+ couples in the After Dark nightclub in Fort Wayne on Saturday, August 16. The drag queen took it upon herself to officiate the weddings in the wake of an official request being submitted to the US Supreme Court to overturn the 2015 same-sex marriage ruling.
Community members came together at around 10:30pm to witness the occasion. The unions were provided at no cost to the couples, with the Greater Allen County UAW CAP council reimbursing their marriage licences.
One of the couples who were married is Naomi and Rudi Garcia, who had been engaged for around a year and a half.
“Once we heard the news that the Supreme Court was going to possibly overturn (the ruling), we wanted to make sure that it was solidified, because I just wanted to marry my best friend,” said Naomi.
“(It’s the) best feeling in the world,” added Rudi.
Another couple had been together for 18 years, and wanted to be married by “the most fabulous drag queen ever”. The other has been in a relationship for nearly 35 years.
“I may be overreacting but I would rather overreact than not react at all,” Della Licious stated, as per local news outlet 21Alive. The drag queen added that by officiating the weddings now, the couples are able to make it official before any changes come into place.
“It’s wonderful… We have three couples who can now get all the benefits of being married with no risk of any political pushback,” the performer expressed.
“Congratulations to the couples!… There is absolutely nothing wrong with us. We just want to live, and if a drag queen on a Saturday night in a gay bar has to get people married. Then, so be it.”
Similarly, a queer bookshop in Somerville, Massachusetts, is set to hold a “wedding marathon” in light of the Supreme Court request. All She Wrote Books will host the ‘Love Can’t Wait Another Day’ event on August 30, when couples will be offered the chance to tie the knot for $500, which includes a one-hour private ceremony with up to 12 guests, professional photos, cupcakes, an optional bubbly toast, a special wedding gift and information on the nine legal documents that help replicate marriage rights if they are overturned.
The bookshop announced the news on Instagram, writing, “We can’t believe it’s come to this, but the clock could be ticking on LGBTQIA+ marriage rights. We’re not interested in waiting to see what happens and neither is our community. That’s why we’re creating space for folks to say ‘I do’ ASAP without the cost or delay of a traditional wedding.”
The Supreme Court was formally asked to reverse the Obergefell v. Hodges decision, which legalised same-sex marriage in the US. The petition was submitted by former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis, who refused to issue a marriage licence to a gay couple in 2015, and was then jailed for six days and sued for damages. After failing to find a court that would hear her case on the lower circuit, Davis appealed to the Supreme Court in July for the second time, after being denied in 2020.
The court will not deliberate on whether or not they will hear the case until late autumn.
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