By Moses Leos III
This is the interview conducted with Tamika Walker and Olga Vasquez of Kyle three days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage. They were the first LGTB couple to apply for a marriage license at the Hays County Pct. 2 Clerk’s Office. They have been together nearly 13 years.
HFP: First, what does it mean to go through this? How long have you been seeking to get married?
TW: We’ve been thinking about this for so long. We’ve just been waiting for it to be legal in the United States and it being legal everywhere.
OV: I didn’t think it was ever going to happen in Texas.
TW: Not in our lifetime, I didn’t think. It means a lot for our kids, because our kids ask us all the time, ‘when are you going to get married.’ Well, it’s not legalized for our situation and who we are. We just have to continue to wait.
HFP: What does it mean to be the first to get marriage license at Pct. 2 office?
TW: “It’s kind of awesome. I didn’t think it was going to happen. It’s awesome. When I found out on Friday, (Olga) she was telling me in Hays, they were not allowing the certificates to be handed out. So, We’ll have to go to Austin.
We were going to wait until we plan a big wedding. But since her dad’s dying of cancer right now, and we would like for him to be a part of it. So when they said it was here, we said let’s go ahead for it.
HFP: Where were you when the news broke on Monday?
OV: We both found out at work—we both work together in Round Rock – we left early from work.
TW: We drove all the way out here. We had to do it today. To get it done before Friday.
HFP: How about having to making the adjustments on the form? Was it a big deal?
TW: No. It was a few minor changes. It’s not hard to make. But the clerk said she wasn’t sure if it was going to be legalized if we do it. But that’s their problem to handle from here on. It’s legalized in the U.S. For me, it didn’t matter. Writing a “wo” [on the form] didn’t matter at all.
OV: If we have to come out and fill out a new form. That’s fine. We’ll be here.
HFP: What’s next?
OV: We’re planning a big wedding. We plan to go back on Friday to have a ceremony in front of JP’s office. After that, we will plan something big.
HFP: Was it scary being the first gay couple at the Pct. 2 office applying for a marriage license?
TW: For me, I was nervous about it.
OV: I was kind of in shock, because I never thought it was going to happen in Texas.
TW: It doesn’t feel real. It will sink in.
HFP: Does all your family know you’re in a relationship?
TW: Yes. Now, does all of my family know I’m getting married yet? No, only a few of them. We always planned to get married. But today, it was like, let’s go ahead and do it, so we can do this with her father. Once I get home, I’ll call my family and saying, hey, start planning. It’s unbelievable.
HFP: What are you planning for your wedding?
TW and OV: Something big, a traditional wedding. We’re going to start planning it now.
