Activists Arrested After Austin, Tex., Marriage Equality Occupation

Three LGBT activists were arrested Tuesday morning for occupying the Austin, Texas, county clerk’s office after being denied marriage licenses.

The Raw Story reports that as part of an annual Valentine’s Day marriage equality protest organized by GetEQUAL Texas, approximately 40 people showed up outside the offices of Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir to request marriage licenses for their same-sex partners.

The group included members of Occupy Austin.

According to the story, even though DeBeauvoir denied the requests, she “openly empathized with the couples applying for licenses, even putting an arm around one woman who began to cry.”

She also helped the cause when three activists decided to stage their own occupation in the office. When the activists announced that they were staying put until after closing time, DeBeauvoir reportedly suggested that they maximize coverage by acting while the reporters were standing by. The activists agreed, so DeBeauvoir called the police and had them removed.

“We wish the law was different,” the clerk told Raw Story, “but until it is I’m bound by the laws of the state and will not break the law. One of these days, I hope that all couples have the same civil rights.”

Read the full story here.