Gay Marriage Licenses Ran High In St. Louis County

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- St. Louis County saw the fourth-highest demand for marriage licenses by gay couples in the first month they were allowed to wed in Minnesota.

The county had 69 same-sex couples apply for licenses in August, according to statistics made available to The Associated Press in response to a written records request.

St. Louis withheld its information until Friday evening, days after the AP published a statewide survey tallying the number of licenses issued to same-sex couples. With the county's figures, the gay marriage license applications across Minnesota top 1,700.

State officials predict as many as 5,000 couples will get married in the first year of the new law.

Hennepin County, the state's most populous, had the most activity so far. It was followed by Ramsey and Washington.

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