On September 15, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis became the first sitting governor to have an LGBTQ+ wedding. Polis married his partner Marlon Reis, with whom he has two children. They wed on the 18th anniversary of their first date, the New York Times reported. 

In their traditional Jewish ceremony, their 9-year-old son acted as ring bearer and their 7-year-old daughter was the flower girl.

Polis proposed to Reis in December, during a frightening time when the couple had contracted Covid-19. Reis had to be hospitalized, and just before he was taken in, Polis asked him to marry him.

On Facebook, Polis said their ceremony in Boulder, Colorado was small, consisting of just a few family and friends. “We are both excited for this new chapter in our lives together,” he wrote, “and our hearts are full with blessings of health, love, and family.”

The wedding was focused on being as covid-safe as possible. Rapid tests were administered to each person who attended the outdoor ceremony, the couple told People. 

They also reflected to NPR about how it felt to be gay as younger men, as well as how far they have come.

“When people thought of gay people, they thought of AIDS, unfortunately,” Polis said. ‘That was, I think, in both of our cases our parents’ first fears, they were like, ‘Oh, I hope you don’t get AIDS. Be careful.’ That’s the main thing you knew about gay people in the ’80s and ’90s.”

Reis added that growing up, he couldn’t even conceive that getting married was a possibility.

“And in fact, the reality was that there was a lot of misinformation out there about what could potentially happen if you came out — what opportunities would you lose, how it would negatively impact you. So for a long time, the idea of getting married, we didn’t talk about it.”

Now, they couldn’t be happier with their decision to wed. “We are thankful for the health and wellbeing of our family and friends, and the opportunity to celebrate our life together as a married couple,” Polis wrote on Instragram.

 

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Polis is no stranger to making history. When he assumed office in 2018, he became the first out gay Governor of any state. And in 2008, he was the first out gay man elected to the House of Representatives.

Huge congratulations to Polis, Reis, and their whole family!