Same-sex couples
expecting
marriage license
rejection
Cara Sapida,
nbc-2.com on the Web, February 14, 2007
LEE COUNTY, Feb. 13 -- As the
GOP fights for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, gay couples are
fighting back. A dozen local couples plan to arrive at the county clerk's
office with paperwork in hand. But unlike the other couples in line, they
know they'll walk away empty handed.
Forget flowers and chocolate on valentines, some same-sex couples say they
simply want social security benefits and tax breaks.
One Lee County couple has been fighting for equal rights for 35 years -- a long
time to wait for a ring. But after 35 years, Steve Smith and Anthony
Cerullo still aren't married.
If you ask them, they will tell you they act like a married couple and even
fight like a married couple. But they aren't given the same rights as a
married couple.
"We're just like you, just like you. We want to be accepted as a couple,
with the benefits we're entitled to. We worked all our lives. I'm
entitled to his social security and he's entitled to mine," said Cerullo.
On Wednesday, they will apply for a marriage license for the fourth time and
they say for the fourth time, they will be rejected.
"We have to follow the laws of the state of Florida," said Lee County Clerk
Sharon Smith.
According to the Florida marriage statute, only a man and a woman can obtain a
marriage license.
"We will let them fill out the application. Once they show us the ID we
show them the Florida statute -- it ends there," said Smith.
While the application process may end, the fight continues.
For many same-sex couples, filing for marriage is symbolic. They are well
aware the state does not allow gay marriage licenses and the city has no say.
But other states have changed their laws and even their terminology. For
example, in some states the phrase "bride and groom'' has been changed to "first
applicant and second applicant" and "husband and wife'' has been changed to
"spouse for life."
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