Following the results of the vote on Amendment One in North Carolina, the WE DO campaign launched its third stage, continuing to stress that LGBT individuals are treated as second-class citizens and to call for full equality under federal law. On the first day of Stage 3, nine couples requested marriage licenses at the Wilson County Register of Deeds in Wilson and the Durham County Register of Deeds in Durham. All nine couples were denied marriage licenses because of North Carolina’s state law prohibiting same-sex marriage.
Several of the couples have had commitment ceremonies or are legally married in other states. Monty and Steve, a couple in Wilson, had a commitment ceremony in 1998. Another Wilson couple, Susan and Sheila, legally wed on their 25th anniversary in 2011 in New York City. They celebrated with their daughter, Cameron, in New York and wanted to be legally wed in their home state, too. In Durham at 3:00 pm on May 9, Barb and Ann were also denied a marriage license. They plan on traveling to New York in June to be legally wed.
You can read more about Monty and Steve’s story here; Susan and Sheila’s story here; and Barb and Ann’s story here. LGBT couples will continue applying for marriage licenses through May 15 across the state.
