A lesbian who sought a marriage license with her partner in North Carolina was arrested after she refused to leave a government office where several gay and lesbian couples were turned away.
The arrest comes after the passing of a new state law which defines marriage as being solely between a man and a woman, effectively banning same-sex marriage.
‘We cannot issue you a marriage license because it is not allowed under North Carolina law,’ a clerk told two gay men.
Mary Jamis of Mocksville, and her heterosexual friend Mary Lea Bradford of Winston-Salem, were arrested after joining nine couples looking for a marriage licence and refusing to leave the marriage license office.
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, reported the Daily Mail.
They were charged with second-degree trespass, a low-level misdemeanor, and released without bond, authorities said.
