DC Rejects e-Marriage License For Dallas Gay Couple

A Dallas couple had the nifty idea of bringing more attention to the same-sex marriage debate by making history on 10/10/2010 with the first same-sex e-marriage. Unfortunately, the Washington DC marriage bureau had a different idea - reject their marriage license.

Mark Reed and Dante Walkup, local business owners living in Texas, were married in front of about 80 people. The ceremony was rather typical...except for the 6-by-8-foot screen with the face of DC based marriage officiant Sheila Alexander-Reid looming behind them.

While the married (er...de-married?) couple were celebrating with friends and family in Texas, Sheila was attending digitally from DC via Skype, a practice known as e-marriages. While same-sex marriage was legalized in DC this past March, the statue does not specifically address the issue of e-marriages.

Walkup and Reed couple flew to DC prior to the ceremony to apply for their license. They consulted legal experts and took every step they could to make the service fall within the spirit of DC's laws, even attending an e-marriage conference in Michigan. However, DC notified the couple and Alexander-Reid that their ceremony, and in turn their marriage license, were not valid.

Sheila Alexander-Reid, a same-sex marriage activist, and Mark Reed-Walkup, a board member of GetEQUAL and previously active with the Executive Steering Committee for the National Equality March, are no strangers to taking bold actions. Alexander-Reid said the couple are considering their next steps to stay married while preserving the Skype option for other couples. Best wishes to Sheila and the couple on their efforts - this one could get interesting.

[Via: Metro Weekly & TBD]