From October 3rd to 14th The Campaign for Southern Equality had same-sex couples request marriage licenses at the Asheville, North Carolina Buncombe County Register of Deeds. All the couples got rejected of course, but at least they filmed it!
The Campaign for Southern Equality edited the footage from their “WE DO” action into a heartbreaking video that shows each couple requesting legal recognition and then getting turned down by city clerks. There’s tears, disappointment, and yet hope as one genuinely regretful clerk says that she hopes the state will legalize marriage equality soon.
North Carolina voters will decide whether to include a marriage equality ban in their state constitution this May. Even though the vote will occur concurrently with the state’s Republican primary, sharing more videos like this would undoubtedly make voters’ more empathetic to full equality for all.
Chad
Great video, they should do this is more states. What they should have put at the endin of the video was 2 complete strangers (male and female) walk up and say they just met
and ask for a marriage license. Of course they would have been approved.
easttnguy
Any town clerks that believe people are equal, and this belief is based on their religious upbringing, should follow the footsteps of those in NY and claim their religious freedoms are being impeded by the laws of the state they pledged to serve. Even though I wouldn’t expect anything from this action other than bringing much-needed attention to the ridiculousness of that claim.
Shannon1981
If this doesn’t make you cry, or at least feel something you are truly heartless.
Cam
It was nice to see the sympathy in some of the town clerks.
Great video.
Deeone
One day we’ll be able to look back at this era of injustice as we have so many other injustices in this nation, and praise the growth that we’ve managed to acquire. The day unfortunately cannot come soon enough. Touching video from my home state. Victory will be ours one day.
Little Kiwi
tore me up
the crustybastard
@Chad:
Excellent idea.
Indeed, I don’t mind ads that play to emotions to make the point of the insanity of creating a legally outlying class of people on this absurd of a basis.
But you cannot reason people out of what they were not reasoned into.
So the soft touch needs to be balanced by some real “in your face” ads too. Ads that point out that among the first laws passed by the Nazi regime was a marriage ban and a military ban. Force people to realize who their ideologies are aligned with, and make them understand it ain’t flattering. There need to be other ads that do nothing but dismantle opponents arguments point by point so they cannot continue to use lies and logical fallacies to get their way.
We need to take the gloves off. They took theirs off a long time ago.
Chad
@the crustybastard: I agree, my point was to show that just any two opposite sex couples, who just met or whatever can walk up and get a marriage license approved.
Disgusted Gay American
Here’s an Idea for a video…..2 gay guys walk up, ask for marriage license and are refused – they step aside……….then 2 lesbians come up ask for marriage license and are refused – they step aside……….then one of the gay guys, and one of the lesbians (who just met) say- here’s an idea – how about we see if WE as strangers can marry…one man, one woman go to counter and say – “we don’t know each other,but we want to get married and get the 1300 + federal rights + states rights”!!! ……..lets see how that turns out? whatya think?
Darrell
That would make for a really good ad! Best video I’ve seen so far. Unfortunately, Republicans ARE heartless (that’s what makes them Republican), but I read quite some time ago that these kind of ads can have an impact on even them…
Alexa
Anyone not moved by that video is completely heartless.
SteveC
I think that the activists in NC should find a sympathetic town clerk to issue marriage licenses, find a sympathetic registrar to marry gay couples, get the ACLU involved, and then cause a world of chaos in the resulting court cases.
Screw waiting for equality. Simply take it.
perdeep
Oh my goodness, I lost it when the sweet old ladies started to get choked up. I can’t believe how much I’m crying right now. I don’t know what political persuasion the clerks were, but it’s really, really hard for a normal functioning adult with empathy to say no to people’s faces like that. Even if they were against gay marriage in an abstract sense, to be confronted face to face with living people who seem so nice is really powerful. Great idea and great video.
Jeffrey Drummond
Another reason never to live in NC, visit NC, or spend a dollar on anything from NC.
This is a political fight!
Remember the county outside Houston that reversed its anti-gay ordinance when Michael Dell said he would move his facilities out of there?
This is politics, folks. I believe in fighting the good fight on every possible battlefield. (Except one: disaster relief after hurricanes/etc., help for the poor and middle class from gov’t, that I support.)
Lee
Thank you for supporting the WE DO Campaign. On Friday, October 14, a couple couple was arrested for refusing to leave the Register of Deeds office after their request for a marriage license was denied. New video can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H_yfhRXA3Y.