Colorado's Polis weds longtime partner in first same-sex marriage of U.S. governor

(Reuters) - Colorado Governor Jared Polis, the nation's first openly gay man to be elected governor, has tied the knot with his partner of 18 years Marlon Reis in a traditional Jewish ceremony attended by close family and friends.

The marriage between Polis, a Democrat, and first gentleman Reis, a writer and animal advocate, marks the first same-sex wedding of a sitting governor.

"The greatest lesson we have learned over the past 18 months is that life as we know it can change in an instant," Polis wrote in a Twitter post. "We are thankful for the opportunity to celebrate our life together as a married couple."

Polis and Reis both contracted COVID-19 last year and Reis was briefly hospitalized https://www.colorado.gov/governor/news/3706-update-first-gentleman-marlon-reis in December. The couple, who got engaged late last year, are parents to two children age 7 and 9, according to a statement from Polis' office.

A 2015 landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

While LGBTQ people remain "severely" underrepresented, the number of openly LGBTQ elected officials in the United States has increased by 17% between June 2020 and June 2021, according to a report https://victoryinstitute.org/out-for-america-2021 by the LGBTQ Victory Institute.

Earlier this year, Pete Buttigieg, a former mayor of South Bend, Indiana and presidential candidate, became the first openly gay https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biden-transportation/pete-buttigieg-becomes-first-openly-gay-cabinet-secretary-confirmed-by-u-s-senate-idUSKBN2A22IQ U.S. Cabinet secretary confirmed by lawmakers.

(Reporting by Maria Caspani, Editing by Mark Porter)