On September 16, Shela and Deborah requested a marriage license at their local Register of Deeds’ office in Greenboro, NC as part of the WE DO Campaign. You can read media coverage of the action by the Associated Press here.
The letter Shela and Deborah sent to Jeff Thigpen, the Guilford County Register of Deeds, before they applied can be read below.
Dear Honorable Jeff Thigpen,
I am a resident of Guilford County. My partner and I are in a same-sex relationship and would like to marry. I am writing to inquire whether you would grant us a marriage license if we came to your office to apply in person? We plan to come and apply on Monday, September 16.
On September 10, 2011 my partner and I stood in front of God and a select few family and friends who bore witness to our public commitment to spend the rest of our lives together. For us, we do not require a legal piece of paper to know and express our love and devotion to each other. What we do know, however is that not having a marriage license has the ability to tear apart all we have built in our relationship in an instant. We are not the direct heirs to each other. No amount of paperwork we put into place through an attorney makes this legally possible. It can be challenged in a court of law. Dependent on the presiding judge we can have stripped from us all major life decisions that are effortlessly given to a legally married couple of opposite gender.
I recognize that the laws of North Carolina prohibit same-sex marriage, but I believe this law is unconstitutional. You may already be familiar with a recent development in Pennsylvania in which a Register of Wills, Mr. Bruce Hanes, began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in his county. Pennsylvania has a ban similar to our state’s, but Mr. Hanes believes it to be in violation of basic principles of the state and federal constitutions and thus an unjust law. As of today, the licenses he has issued to same-sex couples have not been challenged and he continues to hold office as Register of Wills. (More information is available here: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.
I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Shela Williams
Even though they weren’t granted a license, you can send Shela and Deborah a message of support and thank them for standing up for legal rights for LGBT people here.
