Press release

From the Campaign for Southern Equality

Asheville, N.C. (January 11, 2013) – Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) couples continue to request – and be denied – marriage licenses in their hometowns across the South as the WE DO Campaign grows across the South. At approximately 9:45 a.m. on Jan. 11th, LGBT couples will apply for marriage licenses at the Probate Court in Greenville, located at 301 University Ridge. Later that same day, at approximately 3 p.m., LGBT couples will apply for marriage licenses at the Buncombe County Register of Deeds Office, located at 35 Woodfin Street in Asheville, NC. The purpose of the WE DO Campaign is to call for full equality under federal law for LGBT individuals and families.

During the January 11th actions, family members, friends and clergy will stand in support of the couples. Clergy will lead a prayer service for reconciliation as part of the actions as well. The couples applying for licenses in Greenville all live in the Upstate South Carolina area, and couples applying in Asheville all reside in Western North Carolina.

“LGBT individuals and families live in every city and town across the South, yet do so as second-class citizens. The people taking part in the WE DO Campaign are standing up to say, we are equal, and discriminatory laws must change on the federal level,” says Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Executive Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality.

During the last 10 days, 13 LGBT couples from across Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee have stood up for marriage equality in their home states. The WE DO Campaign is a project of the Campaign for Southern Equality, which is based in Asheville, NC.

The schedule of WE DO events in January 2013 is:

January 11 – Greenville, South Carolina and Asheville, North Carolina
January 14 – Wilson, North Carolina and Winston-Salem, North Carolina
January 17 – Arlington, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The following individuals are available for interviews:

Based in the South, the Campaign for Southern Equality is a national effort to assert the full humanity and equality of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in American life and to increase public support for LGBT rights.
http://www.southernequality.org/