News :: GLBT
Two Colo. Women Insist on Marriage Equality, Are Arrestedby Kilian MelloyTuesday Sep 25, 2007 Two Colo. women were arrested last night on charges of trespassing after demanding a marriage license and refusing to leave unless they got one.
Kate Burns and Sheila Schroeder, of Englewood, entered the Denver Clerk and Recorder Office to request a marriage license. When they were turned away, the women refused to leave the office, prompting their arrest.
But before the police came for them, the women drew a crowd of about 20 supporters.
Saying that state and federal laws that deny full marriage equality to GLBT Americans are the result of faith-based discrimination that amounts to an unconstitutional violation of the American tradition of religious pluralism, Burns and Schroeder held their ground.
One bystander stepped into the office and thanked the women for taking a stand for the rights denied them as a committed, long-term couple.
Police removed the women from the municipal building at about 5 p.m. and issued them citations for trespassing. Both women were released without bail shortly before 5:30.
Before being arrested, Burns said, "As a life-long Unitarian Universalist, I seek to practice my religion by marrying my life partner in the church where I grew up."
The couple’s Unitarin Minister, Rev. Mike Morran, went with them to the Clerk and Recorder’s Office.
Said Rev. Morran, "I am proud to stand on the side of love in support of Kate and
Sheila."
Continued the minister, "From a church point of view, marriage is a sacrament and the state should stay out of it. This civil right-the freedom to marry-should apply to all citizens."
The pair celebrated a commitment ceremony four years ago, but said that they had little legal protection to go along with it.
Recounted Schroeder, "We experienced panic when I had a potentially dangerous health crisis and we had no security that she could attend to me in the hospital."
Burns and Schroeder are co-producers and co-directors of a documentary about Soulforce called SoleJourney, for which they have filmed Soulforce actions over the course of the past three years.
Calling the women’s insistence on marriage equality a "direct action," Soulforce, a national civil rights and social justice organization, said in its press release that Burns and Schroeder’s demand was part of a larger campaign called Focus on the Facts, which Soulforce said is "a nonviolent campaign Soulforce launched at the beginning of 2007."
"Focus on the Facts seeks to end religion-based oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Coloradoans," continued the release, which included this quote from Gandhi: "All reforms owe their origin to the initiation of minorities in opposition to majorities... Those who believe that they are not bound to obey laws which are repugnant to their conscience have only the remedy of [nonviolence] open to them."
In November, Colorado voters will go to the polls for a gubernatorial election. Two measures affecting GLBT residents of the state will also be on the ballot. Referendum 1 would legalize domestic partnerships in Colorado; Amendment 43 would add language to the state constitution limiting marriage to one man and one woman.
Both incumbent Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, and his Republican rival, Bob Beauprez, have said that they oppose marriage equality. Ritter supports Referendum 1, while Beauprez does not.
In 1992, Colorado voters approved Amendment 2, which struck down all local ordinances extending anti-discrimination protections to GLBT Coloradans. The United States Supreme Court subsequently struck down Amendment 2 in 1996.
Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.
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