The couple envisioned a summer ceremony, surrounded by their friends and family. But their plans changed Thursday evening when a rare opportunity arose.

An Iowa district court judge ruled the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. About 20 same-sex couples received marriage licenses, the Associated Press reported, before the judge placed a stay on his original ruling late Friday morning.

,”Sean Fritz and Timothy McQuillan know they want to spend the rest of their lives together. The two Iowa State University students met over a year ago through Facebook and began talking about their future six months ago.

The couple envisioned a summer ceremony, surrounded by their friends and family. But their plans changed Thursday evening when a rare opportunity arose.

An Iowa district court judge ruled the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. About 20 same-sex couples received marriage licenses, the Associated Press reported, before the judge placed a stay on his original ruling late Friday morning.

While most marriage licenses require a three-day waiting period, Fritz, 24, and McQuillan, 21, paid a small fee and obtained a waiver from another judge, allowing them to marry before the stay was enacted.

As soon as Fritz heard the news, he said he had to jump at the chance. He picked up McQuillan from work, got down on one knee and presented McQuillan with a flower and a ring.

"And he said 'yes,' " Fritz said.

The couple stayed up late into the night researching the marriage process and married the next morning – just hours before the judge placed a stay on his ruling. While other couples received marriage licenses, Fritz and McQuillan were the only couple to actually get married.

District Court Judge Robert Hanson ruled Thursday that Iowa's Defense of Marriage Act, passed in 1998 and modeled after a similar federal act, is unconstitutional. The act limits marriage and civil unions to one man and one woman.

Hanson's ruling came while hearing a 2005 case in which six same-sex couples sued after being denied marriage licenses. Hanson put a stay on his decision just before noon Friday and ordered county officials to stop issuing marriage licenses. However, Hanson's ruling sparked a rush to the Polk County recorder's office Friday morning of same-sex couples filing their applications for licenses.

The ruling inspired action from those who oppose same-sex marriage.

The Iowa Family Policy Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening Iowa's families, started a petition asking the state legislature to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman, said Chuck Hurley, president of the organization.

"Our view is that liberals, conservatives and those in between know that children do best with married mothers and fathers," Hurley said. "It's a well-known historic reality that societies that accept homosexuality have failed."

The Iowa Christian Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to incorporating Christian principles in government, also started a similar petition.

"It's certainly going to make us redouble our efforts to make sure Iowa does not becomes another Massachusetts," Steve Scheffler, president of the alliance, said of the decision.

Currently, Massachusetts is the only state that allows same-sex marriage, a move that was spurred by that state's highest court in 2003. California, Connecticut, New Jersey and Vermont all allow civil unions.

Scheffler said he also opposed the ruling because it was made solely by one judge, rather than enacted by a public vote. He said he believes that if there were such a measure, the people of Iowa would vote against it.

In 2004, a bill limiting marriage to a man and a woman was proposed, but the bill failed to pass the state Senate by one vote.

Last November, Wisconsin voters passed a referendum to amend the state's constitution to bar same-sex marriage and civil unions.

Mark Johnson, associate professor of theology at Marquette, said he agrees with those who take issue with the way in which Iowa opened marriage up to same-sex couples.

"Giving people a chance to vote directly on the issue is more fair than concentrating power in judges' hands," he said. "If the citizens of Iowa choose it, then so be it."

Now those same-sex couples that applied for marriage licenses in Polk County are left waiting to find out if their licenses will remain valid after Hanson's stay. The ruling will go before the state Supreme Court.

Katy Farlow and Larissa Boeck, also students at Iowa State, were first in line to apply for their license Friday morning. Farlow said they woke up at 4 a.m. to get a license.

"We wanted to make sure we got it done in time for class," Farlow said.

Now the couple that has been together since February 2004 is wondering whether they will be able to complete the marriage process.

"I hope that because we got (the license) before the stay . they won't invalidate it," said Farlow, 23. "I'm really scared they'll invalidate it and I'll be really mad if they do."

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