The first same-sex marriage license issued in Lincoln County was applied for on Thursday morning.

Wednesday’s move by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to lift the stay that caused confusion on whether circuit clerks could begin issuing the licenses served as the green-light many clerks needed. Others sought clarity on the ambiguous statements from the attorney general’s office regarding the landmark Supreme Court ruling by visiting Gov. Phil Bryant and a lawyer from the AG’s office in person on Wednesday.

Lincoln County Circuit Clerk Dustin Bairfield said the marriage applications clerks send to vital statistics are extremely specific and all sorts of hang-ups can render them invalid if not filled out properly. He said earlier this week he would follow the law to issue the licenses, if anyone could actually tell the clerks how to deal with the forms that read “bride” and “groom.”

Rather than get caught up in the whirlwind of the occasion, Lincoln County’s first legally married same-sex couple, Jason McDonald and Timothy Gipson, said they wanted to quietly “ride off into the sunset.”