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NYC marriage bureau rebuffs same-sex couples
Freedom to Marry Day demonstrations held across the nation
Published Thursday, 19-Feb-2009 in issue 1104
NEW YORK (AP) – Hundreds of same-sex couples seeking to wed were turned away from marriage license counters around the nation Feb. 12, part of an annual protest that took on renewed urgency in light of recent setbacks in the same-sex marriage movement.
Activists in Manhattan wearing signs that said “Just Not Married” were part of a wave of demonstrations throughout the day at marriage bureaus or county clerks’ offices from New York City to California, in communities large and small.
Matt Flanders, 37, of Brooklyn, participated with his 29-year-old partner, Will Jennings. Both wore gold engagement rings.
When he was denied a marriage license, Flanders said he told officials: “‘I should be able to marry the person I love.’ And they said, ‘We can only offer you a domestic partnership.’”
Micah Stanek, 23, stood outside in a floor-length wedding veil after he and his partner were rejected. He said he moved to New York from San Francisco after same-sex marriage was outlawed in California on the November ballot.
“New York is especially important because the rest of the country follows what happens here,” he said.
Outside the bureau, protesters sang “Love and Marriage” and chanted, “What do we want? Marriage! When do we want it? Now!” One man held a sign that read: “Love your husband? Let me love mine!”
The Valentine’s-week protests, part of the 12th annual Freedom to Marry Week, were considered especially important this year because they come in the wake of California’s Proposition 8 vote that overturned same-sex marriage and just as New Yorkers look to their state Senate to pass legislation that could lead to legalized same-sex marriage.
In Augusta, Maine, on Thursday, dozens of proponents of same-sex marriage gathered outside the Maine House and Senate to distribute Valentine’s Day cards while urging support for a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the state.
Nicki Drumb and her partner, Rachel Gardiner, headed to the county courthouse in Orlando, Fla. on Thursday to apply for a license along with dozens of other couples.
Drumb, a 39-year-old graphic artist, also was organizing a group of 100 people who plan to form a heart with their bodies in Orlando’s Lochhaven Park for Valentine’s Day.
“It will point out what we all have in common – we all have a heart, and we all love and need to be loved,” Drumb said.
Some of the largest gatherings were expected in California, where the state’s Supreme Court will hear oral arguments March 5 over whether to restore California same-sex marriages. The court could render a decision as early as June.
In New York, same-sex marriages cannot legally be performed. However, Gov. David Paterson has issued a directive requiring that all state agencies recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. Massachusetts and Connecticut are the only states that allow same-sex marriage.
Senate Majority Leader Malcolm A. Smith has suggested that he and his fellow Democrats lack the votes needed to pass a same-sex marriage bill this year. However, Smith said several days ago that he and fellow legislators are “committed to pursuing its passage.”
The line at the New York City’s marriage bureau also included straight engaged couples.
“They didn’t bother us on our big day and they have a right to protest,” said King Lau, 30, as his bride-to-be, Cheryl Zhang, 25, nodded in agreement.
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