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Loading...Gay Couple Arrested For Requesting Marriage License in Texas
Alice, did you encounter anything this strange in Wonderland? Half of Americans support same-sex marriage, but in Texas filing a marriage license can get a gay couple arrested.
In Maine 55 percent of those recently polled support same-sex marriage, while only 36 percent oppose it. Many U.K. Conservatives and U.S. Republicans have adopted supportive (or at least non-antagonistic) positions on the issue. The list on the “yes” side grows, while the “no” side loses steam. Unfortunately, not every state opposing same-sex marriage has figured out it is bucking a cultural shift.
In Dallas Mark “Major” Jiminez and Beau Chandler declared their independence from archaic laws on July 5th. Knowing they would be refused, they went to the County Clerk’s office, applied to change Chandler’s last name to Jiminez, and then applied for a marriage license.
They see their act as taking a stand in the way Rosa Parks did. Jiminez writes on their Facebook site:
My boy, Beau, and I are tired of giving in too. We are tired of being treated like second-class citizens and we are demanding change!
They were refused a marriage license, as they knew they would be. Then they donned handcuffs and sat in the spot that would have been next in line for a marriage license. The line moved around them.
The two men stayed put until they were taken away in a police car at the end of the day. Because they refused to leave until they were granted a license, they have been charged with criminal trespass and will appear in two separate courts August 2nd.
Friends photographed and videotaped everything. The officials they encountered held to the legal line but treated them respectfully. The two men were soft spoken and polite. In the video below you can see them putting on the handcuffs, sitting on the floor, and speaking gratefully to gathered friends.
Next: Gratitude and Next Steps
Read more: dallas, gay marriage, lgbt, lgbt issues, lgbt rights, same-sex marriage, texas
Photo credits: Thinkstock
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64 comments
+ add your ownDonna, You also obviously did not read the full article. This goes for anyone else that claims the headline was misleading. In Texas, if the police take you away in a police vehicle, that means YOU WERE ARRESTED! These men were taken away in a police vehicle and charged. They had to appear before a Judge in August. Therefore, THEY WERE ARRESTED.
Tess,
You obviously did not read the Article fully. Paragraph 6 clearly states "The two men stayed put until they were taken away in a police car at the end of the day. Because they refused to leave until they were granted a license, they have been charged with criminal trespass and will appear in two separate courts August 2nd."
This couple that is in love should have the right, as consenting adults, to be married. All consenting adults, who are not related by blood, should have equal rights to be married. And the matter of them being same-sex or opposite-sex should have no relevance. A marriage is supposed to be a joining of two SOULS. Since the Soul is a being of pure Spiritual Energy, neither Male nor Female, the temporary physical shell it resides in is irrelevant. That's why we use the term "Soul-Mate" rather than "Body-Mate".
Tess....they WERE arrested. It may not have been precisely for requesting the license, but that's what they went there for and when they were refused they decided to make a stand. The fact that they felt it necessary is what's important here, not that the headline was imprecise. Saying that this causes the article to lose all credibility and hurts their cause is a bit of an overreaction.
Kynthia...don't even waste your time. Elaine has proven herself to be one of the resident Care2 trolls, and you can't have a meaningful conversation with her.
By your reckoning Elaine, Ben Franklin, George Washington, Paul Revere were too stupid for standing up against the (at that time) legal government in the American Colonies.
As Americans, we still have a right to protest. And, according to the founding fathers, a duty to do so when we feel a need to put the government in check.
Read a little more history hon.
Is gay marriage legal in Texas? I don't think so. But do think these two are far to stupid to even live with each other, if they tried that stunt! Probably, rather certain they were arrested for their stupidity in wasting peoples valuable time and if that's the case...They earned their right to wear matching wrist, instead of wedding bands!
Gays, Lesbians and, well, all of us, have enough problems to solve without adding Misleading headlines to the mix! When the headline screams, "Gay Couple Arrested For Requesting Marriage License in Texas" and then you read on to discover that wasn't the case at all; to me, the author and the article has now lost all credibility. Which is a shame, because now the whole, true (and just) cause has been muddied in the deception.
Good for them! They have as much right to get married as anyone. They also make the point that it absolutly won't help them tp be married in another State, Good for them.
Misleading headlines in article.. Gay Couple Arrested for Tresspassing, anyone? Thx for the article though.
Nancy - are you saying that gay men are like mules and sheep?
that gay men are animals?
because they are tax paying citizens, Nancy, just like you, and yet you feel you have the right to keep rights from them.
@Megan N I appreciate your comment about the sensationalist and inaccurate title of this article. Also about many Christians who dont not agree with anti-gay prejudice.
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