Women Arrested After Gay Marriage License Refused In North Carolina

Submitted by Cheston Catalano

Mary Jamis, who was seeking a license to marry her partner, and a straight friend, Mary Lea Bradford, were arrested when they refused to leave a government office after being turned down for a marriage license.

 …they blocked the entrance to the marriage license office and refused to leave more than 30 minutes after closing time.

A county administrator tried to talk the women into leaving and avoiding arrest, but the two insisted they would stay unless Jamis was issued a marriage license for her and her partner, Starr Johnson, 48.

A half dozen female officers then crowded around Jamis and Bradford, who were seated. The officers 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 trespass, a low-level misdemeanor, and released without bond, authorities said.

By: Cheston Catalano

Cheston Catalano is a Kentucky-based journalist whose work has been featured in the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle. He is a long-time contributor to Liberaland.