[caption id="attachment_166828" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Photo: Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal[/caption]

On Thursday afternoon, Nevada State Senator Kelvin Atkison and his partner of six years, Sherwood Howard, were married by Judge Nancy Allf outside the Regional Justice Center—the first same-sex couple legally married in Las Vegas history.

Atkinson had made the news on Tuesday when, at a marriage equality rally, he spontaneously proposed to Jackson. “I was telling my story and it just came out,” said Atkinson. “I proposed to him on stage in front of everyone.”

There had been confusion about whether a stay was in place in the Silver State, as was the case in Idaho—especially after the Clark County clerk’s office tweeted that “the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples is on hold due to pending motions in the courts.” 

But, at 11:30am on Thursday, the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage withdrew its motion to stop the decision, opening the door for couples to tie the knot. At 2:30pm, Atkinson posted on Facebook, “Well, finally, licenses to begin shortly!!!!!”

A few hours later, the men were married on the courthouse steps, becoming the first same-sex couple to get married in Clark County, home to Las Vegas and three-quarters of Nevada's residents.

Later, Howard shared the good news on Facebook.