Monroe: A member of the Support Team who accompanied couples almost every day of the WE DO Campaign. Monroe is also the founding director of Western NC Citizens to End Institutional Bigotry.
My hat is off to all the couples who have and will apply for marriage licenses at the Buncombe County Register of Deeds office. Having been privileged to accompany all of them, I was struck while standing by the counter by how at that moment, we were all struck by the enormity of the act.
The knife to the heart of seeing “Rejected” written across the application and to learn that there would be no record even of having applied brought tears to many on both sides of the counter. To be in love and in many cases to have been together for decades, and then to have your own government, by law, reject your relationship is hard, hard to take.
Yet, I also saw those tears become tears of determination and pride at having stood up to that knife and declare the couple’s equality and full citizenship.
When the Register of Deeds said that “when” this law is changed, he will host a big party, everyone could feel yet again the importance and historic nature of this action. Let’s go get it! Let’s go change that law!
– Monroe Gilmour
