THE GUARDIAN: In bid for improved rights, six same sex couples will attempt to get married in South Carolina on the eve of the GOP primary
For this couple, however, the normal pre-marital concerns about lost rings, rowing families and too-revealing speeches will be overshadowed by the certain knowledge that their request for a marriage licence will be denied.
Alyssa Weaver and Michel McIver are one of six same-sex couples attempting to get married in South Carolina, where gay marriage is illegal. The couples will attempt to get marriage licences as part of the Campaign for Southern Equality's bid for improved LGBT rights in America.
"We want to get married for the same reasons as any other couple," Weaver, a nursing student, told the Guardian.
"We love each other, we're in a long-term committed relationship, we want to be with each other for the rest of our lives, and on a practical note we want the same legal protection that every other couple is entitled to by getting married."
Three couples, including Weaver and McIver, will request marriage licenses in Greenville on Tuesday afternoon. Three more will try on Wednesday.
The bid takes place as Republican candidates for president – most of whom are openly opposed to gay marriage – compete for votes in the state ahead of the South Carolina primary on Saturday.
Weaver said the fact she and McIver, who works in mental health, are prevented from marrying "reinforces the fact that legally we're second class citizens".
"It's also a civil rights issue," she said. "We're citizens of the US, we're grown adults, we work and go to school and are productive, yet the government and society as a whole is telling us we're not the same, we're not as good." » | Adam Gabbatt | Tuesday, January 17, 2012
