The first same-sex couple to apply for a marriage license in Callaway County will marry today.
Rebecca Mobley, 35, and Dorothy Hubert, 39, said the Supreme Court's decision in the Obergefell v. Hodges case wouldn't have any affect on their summer wedding plans. The couple anticipated the court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage, which it did on June 26 with a historic 5-4 vote.
Mobley heard the news first, and said it was somewhat anti-climactic because she knew she was going to make Hubert her wife on July 9 despite any ruling or politics.
"I didn't really have many feelings about (the ruling) because I knew we were getting married no matter what," Mobley, who grew up in Jefferson City, said.
On the day of the ruling, Mobley woke up Hubert, who was sleeping after a night shift, and told her their future marriage was going to be legal in the United States. Hubert said she excitedly woke up and said, "I told you so." After reading an article via Facebook in February, Hubert was confident the ruling was going to go in favor of her, Mobley and the more than 8 million lesbian, gay and bisexual adults in the U.S., a number reported by the University of California-Los Angeles' Williams Institute in 2011.
"I knew it was going to happen," Hubert, a Rolla native, said. "I said, "By the end of June, we'll be legal.'"
They had already proposed to each other at the time. Mobley first at home, which she said was natural for them. Hubert took her turn a couple days later by candlelight and music.
"It doesn't matter who you love, you should be able to marry that person no matter what," Mobley said.
Mobley and Hubert met two years ago at work and struck up a friendship. It took Mobley time to develop feelings for her fiance, but Hubert said she saw "everything" immediately in Mobley.
"It's hard to explain," Hubert said. "All I know is that it was love at first sight. I had never felt it before."
As Mobley came closer to popping the question to Hubert, she said she decided to come out to her family. She called her mother, texted two of her brothers and told her sister-in-law in person who then relayed the information to her brother. The experience was nerve wracking, she said, but they were all accepting.
"They didn't care," Mobley said. "It's 2015."
Coming out was different for Hubert 14 years ago, at the age of 25. Her mother and father, Hubert said, were OK with her sexual orientation. Her father's viewpoint changed when her mother passed away, and he would tell Hubert she was "going to hell."
"It didn't really bother me because I know better," she said.
Today, the couple will be surrounded by those who support them as they have an outdoor wedding in Holts Summit. Mobley said they are looking forward to having the rights of married couples, like filing taxes together and having joint health insurance. They are also exploring adoption possibilities.