Mayor Kriseman officiates same-sex wedding inside City Hall

Mayor Kriseman officiates same-sex wedding inside City Hall

St. Petersburg – For the first time in the history of St. Petersburg, City Hall welcomed a same-sex couple’s wedding into its foyer.

Mayor Rick Kriseman, a longtime advocate of LGBT equality, officiated the wedding of Bob and JoJo Wallace on Jan. 6 on the steps of the interior foyer. The short service was attended by friends of the grooms, several city employees and a throng of media.

The couple wrote their own vows and exchanged rings in front of Kriseman, before he pronounced them legally married. Afterward, media representatives asked Bob Wallace why he wanted to get married on Jan. 6.

“As someone who grew up in a time when he couldn’t be true to who he was, it was important for me to do this today,” he said.

When Kriseman was asked why this couple in particular was married by him, his response was simple.

“Because they asked,” he said, adding that he had known Bob Wallace for several years and was excited for the couple’s new life as legally married spouses.

In all, Pinellas County issued 67 marriage licenses to same-sex couples Jan. 6. Of that number, 24 were married the same day. Of that 24, only one couple was married at St. Petersburg City Hall.

 Photos by Laurie Ross.

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