News (USA)

Gay couple who protested for Ky. marriage license fined 1 cent

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A same-sex couple arrested after refusing to leave the county clerk's office where they had been refused a marriage license have been found guilty of trespassing and fined one cent.
By · Updated on February 15, 2014
Gay couple who protested for Ky. marriage license fined 1 cent
Reverend Maurice Blanchard (right) and Dominique James.
MSNBC
Reverend Maurice “Bojangles” Blanchard (right) and Dominique James.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A same-sex couple arrested after refusing to leave the county clerk’s office where they had been refused a marriage license have been found guilty of trespassing and fined one cent.

The Rev. Maurice “Bojangles” Blanchard and Dominique James were arrested in January after refusing to leave at closing time.

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Blanchard told The Courier-Journal after the verdict was returned it seemed the jury understood their stance and called it “a big victory.”

Assistant Jefferson County Attorney Prosecutor Matthew Welch said evidence was overwhelming that the pair trespassed. But he left it to the jury to decide the amount of the fine.

The newspaper reported that the men faced a maximum fine of $250 for the charge of third-degree trespassing.

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