MISSISSIPPI: Gay Couples To Attempt To Record Marriage Licenses With Clerks

Errol & Mick will record their marriage license at Chancery Court in Harrison County, Mississippi today. #lgbtsouth pic.twitter.com/YqsYLOC4bY
— CSE (@CSElive) August 13, 2014

Via the Associated Press:

Advocates for same-sex couples say couples in eight Mississippi counties will record their out-of-state marriage licenses Wednesday at their local Chancery Court offices. Organized by the Campaign for Southern Equality, the statewide day of action for marriage equality will involve couples recording their licenses in Amite, Desoto, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Lafayette, Lamar and Pearl River counties. Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, the group's executive director, says the participating couples want to "create a public record of their love and commitment." She says there's an urgent need for legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families and individuals in Mississippi.

More from the Washington Blade:

Dee Smith-Smathers, who married her wife of nearly 29 years, Charlene Smith-Smathers, in Massachusetts last year, hopes she will be able to record her marriage at Hinds County Chancery Court in Jackson, the state capital. “We think we’ve got everything covered with powers of attorney of this sort and that sort, but you never know,” Dee Smith-Smathers, who turns 73 next week, told the Washington Blade during a telephone interview from her home outside of Terry as she discussed why she and her wife plan to take part in the campaign. “It’s important to us on a personal level and it’s important to me.”

Jennifer Pierce of Biloxi, who married her wife, Jena Pierce, in Connecticut last December, plan to try to record their marriage with the Harrison County Chancery Court in Gulfport. “To us our marriage license is more than a piece of paper or even the state recognizing we are a legitimate couple,” Jennifer Pierce told the Blade, referring to their 6-year-old daughter Auna who began first grade last week. “It’s about the protection of the little girl who sees us as her parents and getting legally married was the first step of many we need to take towards the protection and well-being of our family.”

Follow along at Twitter feed for the Campaign For Southern Equality.