On Monday, September 16th local same-sex couples will seek marriage licenses at the Guilford County Register of Deeds Office as the WE DO Campaign grows across North Carolina. “We want the same protections and benefits that are afforded opposite-gender couples who marry in the State of North Carolina,” says Cheryl Bridges, who will apply for a license with Tracey Bridges, her partner of twelve years. The couples will be joined by elected officials, friends and clergy who will lead a public prayer service before entering the Register of Deeds office.
“As a descendant of the civil rights movement, I am committed with my friends at the WE DO Campaign to ensuring that we have equal opportunity and equal access for every single citizen in this state,” says State Representative Marcus Brandon (D-Guilford), who will stand with the couples on Monday. “The fundamental rights that are denied to same-sex couples defy the foundation of liberty upon which this country was founded. This fight is more about dignity than anything else, and we will always fight for our dignity.”
Monday’s action in Guilford County expands the WE DO Campaign, an initiative of the Campaign for Southern Equality that has involved more than 80 lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual (LGBT) couples requesting marriage licenses in their hometowns across the South during the past two years. During August, LGBT couples in Madison and Forsyth Counties participated in the campaign. LGBT couples will apply for marriage licenses in their hometowns on the following dates:
September 16: Guilford County
September 26: Burke County
October 2: Henderson County
October 9: Mecklenburg County
October 15: Buncombe County
November 1: Transylvania County
November 4: Cabarrus County
In taking these actions, LGBT couples across North Carolina are asking their local Register of Deeds Office to issue them marriage licenses as an act of conscience and in recognition that Amendment One violates their freedom to marry. Currently in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Register of Wills Mr. Bruce Hanes is granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples, citing as grounds his belief that the Pennsylvania state law banning same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. To date, he has issued licenses to more than 150 same-sex couples. In New Mexico, clerks in eight counties are currently issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, based on a position that these couples have a fundamental right to marry.
“Amendment One is immoral and unconstitutional because it denies loving couples the freedom to marry,” says Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Executive Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality. “We are prayerfully hopeful that a Register of Deeds will begin issuing marriage licenses to LGBT couples in recognition of their love and commitment. We will keep taking public actions until LGBT families and individuals in North Carolina are fully equal under state and federal law. As we do so, we are committed to expressing empathy to those who oppose LGBT rights, or enforce these laws.”
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, more than 18,000 same-sex couples live in North Carolina, with 18 percent of them raising children. 1,116 same-sex couples live in Guilford County according to the Census statistics.
You can read coverage of the Forsyth County action in the Winston-Salem Journal and of the Madison County action in USA Today.
