Powerful images from the day marriage equality finally reached North Carolina, starting with Asheville and the state’s first legal same-sex marriage
Above: A pride flag displayed on City Hall Photo by Max Cooper.
Yesterday, after years of activism, court cases and campaigning, U.S. District Court Judge Max Cogburn, based in Asheville, struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. This came after the U.S. Supreme Court, on Monday, refused to hear an appeal of a lower court decision striking down bans throughout the 4th Circuit, which includes North Carolina.
Appropriately, as Asheville’s long been a base for LGBT and marriage equality activism throughout the Southeast, the first legal same-sex marriage happened here as well. For a good part of Thursday and Friday, couples and supporters gathered outside the Register of Deeds’ office, waiting for the second the ban, passed in 2012, fell. Asheville Blade contributing photographer Max Cooper was there to capture the moment. He’s also written about his experience covering the event on his blog. Portions of that post are excerpted in the captions here.
— David Forbes, Editor
Marriage equality supporters hang a pride flag outside the Registers’ office.
Meghann Burke, an attorney for the Campaign for Southern Equality, reads the order striking down Amendment One, North Carolina’s same-sex marriage ban, to Register of Deeds Drew Reisinger.
Below: Amy Cantrell and Lauren White, of Asheville, receive the first legal same-sex marriage license in North Carolina yesterday at the Buncombe County Register of Deeds office. After receiving their license, Cantrell and White were wed on the steps of the Stanley Center.
Above: Cathy McGaughey (left) and Diane Ansley, plaintiffs in one of the cases before the federal court, who unfortunately did not marry this week. I met them around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday morning at the offices of the Campaign for Southern Equality, and waited with them until after the Register of Deeds office closed. They were scheduled to leave town Friday morning on a family trip, and will return next week to be married.
Waiting with Cathy and Diane set the tone for the rest of the two-day-long wait. Everyone clutched their phones and obsessed over each new piece of information from the courts. The couple were incredibly gracious to the media, allowing us to stick our cameras into some very personal moments. They spent the day mic’d by TV crews; no conversation was private.
As a wedding photographer, I was continually struck by the moments that were lost to this couple: The invitations, the bouquets, the preparation, the nervous excitement — any festivity that took place happened under the cold weight of a pending court decision, media attention and millions of friendly and unfriendly eyes trying to see history be made.
Around mid-afternoon Asheville City Council displayed the flag you see in the leading photo, which of course is now the subject of much controversy. Everyone took a brief walk outside. But by the end of the day it began to rain, and though the couples’ spirits were high, the wait took on an edge of disappointment.
Below: Lindsey Simerly, manager of the WE DO Campaign. As they waited for an order Friday, CSE staff immediately began passing out rainbow arm bands and signs, and decorating the Stanley Center with pride flags.
Above: Campaign for Southern Equality director Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara.
Apparently, while we were all waiting at the Register of Deeds’ office, a group of Asheville’s conservative firebrands demonstrated against the pride flag at City Hall. I saw a few folks leave, but didn’t realize where they were going. Shortly thereafter, county officials appeared at the Stanley Center and asked that the rainbow banners there be taken down. Commissioner Mike Fryar, pictured below, made this request to Dizy Walton, one of CSE’s attorneys.
And that small issue, which was quickly and politely resolved, was the day’s only conflict. As far as I was aware, no one directly protested the proceedings. The rest was simply waiting.
Around 5 p.m. disappointment once again fell over the crowd of around fifty people, even though Reisinger had received permission from the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners to keep the office open late. But the lawyers among us seemed to agree that a ruling could not be expected until Monday. Then, around quarter after five, a group of CSE admin and clergy headed for the office.
Reisinger and Beach-Ferrara got the attention of the group, standing by the lobby’s front door. Beach-Ferrara begin speaking in what seemed liked positive tones, but gave no definite answers. The crowd was on edge: Was this an announcement or another press conference? Then Reisinger, who had stepped away, reappeared with news: “The judge has signed an order.”
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