Gay couple sidestep marriage laws by getting married over Skype
A gay couple from Texas have sidestepped the law banning same sex marriage in their state by getting hitched via the video internet communication website, Skype.
Mark Reed and Dante Walkup have been dating for 10 years and decided the time was right to make a life-long commitment to each other. Despite the fact that gay unions are not legally recognised in Texas, the couple still wanted to wed in their home state surrounded by their family and friends.
That was when the couple struck upon the idea of using Skype technology to make their Texas wedding possible.
After travelling to Washington DC to attend to the appropriate paperwork for a civil partnership, the duo got down to some serious wedding planning in Dallas.
Unions between same sex couples were legalised in Washington earlier this year, which meant they were able to exchange their vows in Dallas, with a registrar officiating the ceremony via Skype in Washington.
Mark and Dante got their wish for a Dallas wedding, tying the knot in front of a giant screen displaying the registrar in Washington who officiated over the ceremony. It is thought the wedding was the first to be conducted over Skype.
The Dallas same-sex wedding could start a trend for e-marriages using Skype to overcome the hurdle of gay marriage bans in different parts of the world.
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