DALLAS: Activist To Run For Office Of County Clerk Who Rejected His Marriage

Activist Mark Jimenez has announced that he will run for Dallas County Clerk.  You'll likely recall that he has some history with that office.

When Jiminez and his partner, Beau Chandler, applied for a marriage license in 2012, they were arrested when they refused to leave the County Records Building without their certificate. "I told them I’d be back,” Jiminez said. The couple tried to get a marriage license three times in 2012 and once earlier this year. They were denied the license each time. Through that process, Chandler was arrested once and Jiminez twice. Both were sentenced to community service, which they successfully completed. Chandler lost his job as a result of the national publicity surrounding the arrest, but he and Jiminez became symbols of the fight for marriage equality in red states. Jiminez explained that, if elected, he doesn’t plan to issue himself a marriage license. Instead, he believes that just working in an office that can’t issue him a license would bring awareness to marriage inequality in Texas.

Voter turnout is expected to be high during the Democratic primary in March when state Sen. Wendy Davis competes for the gubernatorial nomination. Below are Jimenez and his partner during their first sit-in at the Dallas County Clerk's office.

(Tipped by JMG reader Mike)