This was a great protest. But was it effective?
Just received from Soulforce:
Tuesday afternoon, approximately 100 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Coloradans protested outside Denver’s Wellington E. Webb Municipal Building. At 3:45pm, several couples and individuals entered the Denver City and County Clerk and Recorder’s office to stage a sit-in and nonviolent civil disobedience. Denver residents (and members of Soulforce In Colorado) Kate Burns, Lewis Thompson, Laurin Foxworth, John Ferguson, and Shari Wilkins were arrested at approximately 4:45pm. The arrest occurred after a young heterosexual couple entered the clerk and recorder’s office to obtain a marriage license and were unable to do so because of the sit-in that blocked business as usual. Later in the day, the young couple posted the following on the event’s Facebook page:
“My fiancée and I were the couple who came to get our marriage license during the sit-in today. I left work early to make it before 4:30, and we had no idea there was a demonstration planned. Before we came in we talked about whether we should come back for our license another day. We decided to go ahead partly because it would help draw attention to your cause by triggering the arrests.
We admire your civil disobedience, and thank you for the respect you showed us. Your presence today reminded us that we are fortunate to have the basic rights of marriage. Good luck and keep fighting.”
All five of the activists were jailed and cited for trespassing and for disobedience of a lawful order. Burns was also cited for interference. Just over six hours later, they had all been released after each posted $500 bond.
