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 Denver Lesbian Couple
Guilty Of Trespassing In
Marriage Protest
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: May 7, 2008 - 5:00 pm ET, Updated 6:30 pm
ET
(Denver, Colorado) A jury
of six women on Wednesday found a lesbian couple guilty trespassing after
the couple refused to leave the Denver City Clerk's office
when the pair was refused a marriage license.
Kate Burns, 44, and Sheila Schroeder, 43, were
sentenced to 28 hours of community service and were both ordered to pay a $41
fine.
Burns and Schroeder where
arrested in 2007 when they refused to leave the Denver Clerk's Office.
"These are two courageous women who stood up
for their love and to speak out about a law that's unfair," attorney Mari
Newman told the court, noting that a generation ago similar protests were staged
by interracial couples protesting a ban on their marriages.
The assertion drew an objection from the Denver
city attorney and an admonition from County Judge James Breese to the jury that
"This is a trespass charge. Whether the law is a good law is not an issue
in this case."
The city prosecutor in his opening statement said
that the women intended to break the law and that they had
invited the media to a news conference prior to entering the clerk's office.
Burns and Schroeder began their sit-in after
being told Colorado's constitution forbids same-sex couples from marrying. (story)
"We're sorry for the disturbance, but we
won't leave until we're provided with the same rights as everyone else,"
Burns told clerk Stephanie O'Malley at the time.
Burns and Schroeder said they wanted to put the
issue of marriage back before the public.
O'Malley called police. The women were allowed to
remain in the office until closing time and were then arrested.
They were handcuffed and led out of the building.
In 2006 Colorado voters approved an amendment to
the state constitution limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples. A second
proposed amendment that would have created a statewide domestic partner registry
was rejected.
The city of Denver and two other municipalities
in the state have their own registries but offer none of the benefits or rights
of marriage under state law.
©365Gay.com 2008
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