Ten gay couples applied for — and were denied — marriage licenses Thursday afternoon in Winston-Salem during a protest of the state's law and constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Also, two women were arrested later that afternoon when they refused to leave the building without a marriage license.
The women — Mary Jamis and Mary Lea Bradford — were charged with trespassing after staying inside the Forsyth County Register of Deeds Office after it closed. Jamis is gay and applied with her partner; Bradford is straight and was there for support. During their protest, they read from federal statutes and Supreme Court cases related to rights and benefits given to married people — and denied to gay couples, who are not allowed to be married in North Carolina.
"The purpose of us being here is to be served a marriage license," Jamis told County Manager Dudley Watts, when he asked them to leave.
"North Carolina law does not allow us to do that," Watts replied.
Jamis' and Bradford's arrests capped a day of protests over marriage in North Carolina. The state's laws prevent gay couples from being married; North Carolina voters on Tuesday passed an amendment that writes that ban into the state constitution.
The protest started about 3:30 p.m., when more than 100 people marched down Chestnut Street in downtown Winston-Salem, holding signs that read, "WE DO." The "We Do" campaign, wherein gay couples apply for marriage licenses knowing they will be denied, is sponsored by the Campaign for Southern Equality, an Asheville-based nonprofit that advocates for equal rights for gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual people.
The crowd included 10 couples — many of them with their children — who planned to ask for a marriage license knowing they would be denied.
Before the couples went into the building, the Rev. Joe Hoffman of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Asheville prayed over the crowd.
"May love be our ethic," Hoffman prayed. "May love be our way."
Then the crowd made its way inside. Pair by pair, they approached the clerks. Pair by pair, they were turned away.
The conversations went the same each time:
"We are here to apply for a marriage license," Debra Taylor told a clerk. She slid her driver's license and Social Security card across the desk. Her partner did the same.
"OK," the clerk replied. "Under North Carolina law, we are not able to issue your license."
Taylor smiled gently, and asked the clerk to write the word "denied" on their application. Then she offered her story:
"My wife and I have been together for nine years," she said. "We have been together through a natural disaster — we came from New Orleans. We have been together from the day we met each other, unwavering. And one day, I hope that you guys will accept us."
Aly Windsor held her daughter in her arms and looked toward her partner's eyes for support as she asked for a marriage license. The clerk explained she could not give them one, and Windsor's voice broke as she replied:
"We've been together for seven years, and married in our hearts for five," she said. "I hope one day we will be able to be married here."
The Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality, said the campaign would continue today in Asheville, where 20 couples planned to request marriage licenses. Gay couples also applied for marriage licenses Wednesday in Wilson and Durham, and plan to apply for licenses today and next week in Bakersville, Marshall, Asheboro and Charlotte.
After the two women remained in the building after closing, a half-dozen female deputies arrived and crowded around Jamis and Bradford, who were seated. The deputies asked them to stand, handcuffed them and led them out a side door and into a van to be booked at the county sheriff's department across the street. They were charged with second-degree trespassing and were released without bond.
Beach-Ferrara said the campaign was designed "to show what it looks like when a discriminatory law is passed."
"There are people who are hurt by these laws every single day," she said.
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