Source: Newsday, 1010 WINS, WABC News, Gay Financial Network

Frustrated by lack of progress on a marriage equality bill in the state legislature, a gay New York couple turned to act of civil disobedience. They refused to leave the Oyster Bay, N.Y., town clerk's office on Long Island Monday until they were given a marriage license.

Although the state of New York doesn't issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, the protesters, Dan Pinello, 58, and Lee Nissensohn, 50, were there to make a point, aware that they would not walk out with a marriage license.

Qnews update: Charges dropped against gay couple ticketed in Long Island marriage protest (9-June-08)

About five dozen people stood in a steady rain outside the office, holding signs and chanting, "Let Dan and Lee Marry," as an East Hills gay couple applied for a marriage license.

Pinello and Nissensohn walked into the office at 3:30 p.m. and walked out nearly two hours later without a marriage license, but with two tickets for trespassing.

Nissensohn is a dentist and Pinello a government professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. They consider themselves like every other married couple in the neighborhood, but legally they are not.

"All of our neighbors are married," Pinello said. "We all pay the same taxes, state and local. They have all the protections that come from state government from paying those taxes and being married. We don't."

"There's health benefits, there's financial benefits, and just many legal aspects that as an unrecognized couple, you're not entitled to," Nissensohn said.

Town Clerk Steven L. Labriola refused to issue the license, telling the couple he was "precluded by law" from doing it.

"We're not trying to make statements here, we're trying to do our jobs," he said later.

The men, who have been together for 13 years, refused to leave the building at closing time, 4:45 p.m. Three Nassau County police officers took them into a room and handed them appearance tickets.

The goal of the couple's act of civil disobedience was to persuade Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset) to pressure State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Brunswick) to take a bill that would allow same-sex marriage to the Senate floor for a vote. The bill, is currently stalled in the judiciary committee.

Pinello and Nissensohn said they've tried everything to get the marriage equality bill to the floor of the N.Y. State Senate for a vote: They've organized petitions, written letters, and more, but nothing has worked.

"We have, in fact, reached the end of our rope (and) we don't know what more to do," Pinello said.

So now they're trying civil disobedience.

"We participated in all of the regular forums of trying to persuade legislators to act, and so we're forced to do this. We have no other choice in the matter," Pinello said.

Their chanting supporters were mostly people who didn't know the couple. But the men had written them letters, asking for their support in lobbying their representatives.

Pinello and Nissensohn said they were touched by the show of support.

"For strangers to show so much devotion, not only to us, but to our cause, is wonderful," said Pinello.

The couple is scheduled to appear in court on June 9 for hearings on the trespassing tickets.

Full article: Oyster Bay gay couple denied marriage license | Newsday
LI Same-Sex Couple Denied Marriage License | 1010 Wins
Same-sex couple makes statement | WABC TV
New York Couple Demands Marriage License in Act of Civil Disobedience | Gay Financial Network
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