The number of same-sex marriages topped the number of marriages done in church, based on the Saipan Mayor’s Office records for January through September 2018. Saipan Tribune learned over the weekend that the Saipan Mayor’s Office has been recording more same-sex marriages compared to church marriages in the first three quarters of 2018, mirroring the same trend in 2017 within the same period. From January through September 2018 alone, the mayor’s office conducted a total of 96 same-sex marriages—59 same-sex female marriages and 37 same-sex male marriages.