Two BR Women Exchange Vows in ‘Gay Wedding’ by Bill Bankston

Two Baton Rouge women, Gloria Villani, 49, and Earline Robin Hulsey, 34, exchanged marriage vows in a Sunday ceremony at the Metropolitan Community Church mission in New Orleans.

The two women said that this week they seek to obtain a civil marriage license at the clerk of court’s office in Baton Rouge.

They said they expect to be denied the license and that they will then launch a court fight to obtain legal recognition for marriages of their type.

The ceremony, which included communion and exchange of rings, was performed by the Rev. Ron Anderson from the Metropolitan Community Church in Ft. Worth, Tex.

A spokesman for the church said it was founded in 1968 in Los Angeles and that there are now about 60 congregations in North America and Europe.

The Sunday ceremony was the 10^th such service performed at the church in New Orleans, members said.

Both women have lived in Baton Rouge since 1969. Miss Hulsey is a native of Oklahoma and Miss Vallani is a native of Louisiana.

They met about a year ago, they said. Miss Hulsey said she was once married to a man but that marriage was annulled.