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Brittany Arneson and Amy Vesper are denied a marriage license at the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office on Thursday. (Marla Brose / Journal)
Two same-sex couples on Thursday tried but failed to obtain marriage licenses at the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office.
County staffers said the couples didn’t have all the proper records, such as a Social Security card, needed for the license. They also told the couples that the law calls for a male applicant and and a female applicant.
“I’m upset. Love should have no boundaries,” said Brittany Arneson, who tried to marry her partner, Amy Vesper.
About a half dozen activists carried signs and watched as the applicants tried to obtain licenses. Also denied were Stayce Driskell and Lisa Taj McCellon.
McCellon said they deserved “the same rights as other New Mexicans.”
The conversations between the couples and county staff members were polite. The clerks advised the couples that they could contact their state legislators to seek a change in state law.
It was much quieter than a similar effort in February, when two women were arrested for refusing to move from the clerk’s office.
-- Email the reporter at dmckay@abqjournal.com. Call the reporter at 505-823-3566
