A lesbian couple was arrested in New Mexico Tuesday after chaining themselves with a bicycle lock in two chairs at the state’s Marriage License Bureau. The two women, April Parker, 38, and Amanda Rich, 31, were among 40 other protesters at the county clerk’s office in downtown Albuquerque.
According to the Albuquerque Journal and the Associated Press, the women were arrested but not taken to jail. Both Parker and Smith were issued tickets for trespassing and disorderly conduct.
The women protested against the state’s ban on same-sex marriage by stopping other petitioners from getting their marriage license.
“I’m sorry, but until we can get a marriage license, no one else can get a marriage license today,” the pair said. Both women refused to remove themselves from the line.
Although the New Mexico state constitution does not explicitly have language that bans same-sex marriage, it does not grant marriage licenses to gay or lesbian couples. The topic garnered debate last month when Republican state Rep. David Chavez proposed to amend the constitution to include language that would formally prohibit same-sex unions with proposed legislation that would also void the recognition of same-sex marriages and civil unions performed in other states.
