Former President George H.W. Bush Is Witness At Lesbian Wedding Of Two Longtime Friends In Maine

Former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, were the official witnesses to the wedding of a lesbian couple in Kennebunk, Maine, over the weekend, a spokesperson for Bush said.

According to reports, Bonnie Clement and Helen Thorgalsen, who have been together for 12 years and own a general store in the town of Kennebunk have been friends with the former first couple for years. In an e-mail to the Washington Post, Clement said they asked Bush and his wife to be witnesses after thinking about "how blessed we are to be in their lives."

She added: "Who would be best to help us acknowledge the importance of our wedding as our friends and as the former leader of the free world. When they agreed to do so we just felt that it was the next acknowledgment of being 'real and normal.'"

The Bush family has close ties to the state and owns property there.

The newlyweds are on their honeymoon in London and they told BuzzFeed that it was natural for the former first couple to be invited to the ceremony, as “they have always been not only supportive of us but including us in many of their social events when they are here in Kennebunkport.”

On Sept 23., Thorgalsen posted a photograph, on Facebook, of the former president signing a piece of paper as a witness to their wedding, which was a private ceremony. “Getting our marriage license witnessed!” she captioned the photograph, which shows Bush seated in a wheelchair signing a paper.

According to Associated Press, same-sex marriages weren’t a big political issue when Bush was in office. His son, former President George W. Bush, has gone on record denouncing same-sex marriages in the past, but his wife, Laura Bush, and their daughter Barbara Bush support gay marriages.