As part of the Campaign for Southern
Equality's WE DO Campaign, five gay and lesbian couples asked for and
were denied marriage licenses in Hattiesburg, Mississippi on
Wednesday.
The event included five gay couples who
each requested a marriage license but were refused because
Mississippi law limits marriage to heterosexual couples. It was the
first of 9 stops planned by organizers to take place in 7 states over
the course of the next 2 weeks.
In a video posted by the group, a
lesbian couple profess their love for each other while being denied
the right to marry.
“Alison is the woman I love,”
Leiana is seen saying at the counter. “We've been together for ten
years. And nothing will ever change that, this piece of paper or
anything like that. And so we want to do our part to get those laws
changed.” (The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
To date, 38 couples have sought
marriage licenses as part of the WE
DO Campaign.
This stage of the campaign will end in
Arlington, Virginia on January 17. After being denied licenses, the
couples and their supporters will march to Washington D.C. to
celebrate the legal wedding of one Southern couple from North
Carolina.