Source: Denver Post, KMGH-TV, Rocky Mountain News
Denver -- A lesbian couple who staged a sit-in at the Denver Clerk and Recorder's Office after being denied a marriage license was found guilty today of trespassing.

Denver County Judge James Breese sentenced Kate Burns and Sheila Schroeder to 28 hours of community service each and ordered each to pay $41 in court costs, according to the Denver Post. (Other media outlets give slightly different figures for the fines.)

The six-woman jury deliberated less than an hour before announcing the guilty verdict.

Prosecutors argued that the couple broke the law when they staged a silent protest at the Denver clerk and recorder's office last September. The couple applied for a marriage license, but was told that Colorado law prohibited same sex couples from getting married.

The women then sat down in front of the clerk's counter. When they were asked to move, they politely declined.

Breese said he was imposing no jail time because the women conducted themselves in a "rational and calm" manner when they sought the marriage license and during the sit-in after it was refused.

During their testimony today, both women said they wanted a marriage license because of their deep love for each other and and because of their religious beliefs.

The sit-in, they said, was to show that they and other committed gay and lesbian couples believe that Amendment 43, passed by 56 percent of Colorado voters in 2006, is unconstitutional.

Amendment 43 defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

"I love Sheila Schroeder with all my heart," said Burns, adding: "Sheila and I are people of faith."

When she and Schroeder went to the Clerk and Recorder's Office on Sept. 24, they were accompanied by their pastor, the Rev. Mike Morran, of First Unitarian Church of Denver. Morran was prepared to marry them if the license was issued, said Burns.

But she said Morran's "hands were tied" by Amendment 43.

Morran told the jury that Burns and Schroeder had his full support.

"I totally and completely believed in what they were doing," said the minister. "They are fine and faithful members of the congregation. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I would have married them that day."

The women and their lawyer, Mari Newman, said that what the couple was trying to accomplish is the repudiation of laws that limit marriage to heterosexual couples.

"It's about equality, love, honor and dignity," Newman said.

Newman argued during the short trial, "These are two courageous women who stood up for their love and to speak out about a law that's unfair." Just 40 years ago, it was illegal for people of different races to marry, she added.

That prompted one of many objections by city attorneys and an admonishment by  Judge  Breese.

"This is a trespass charge," he told the jury. "Whether the law is a good law is not an issue in this case."

Newman offered an analogy between Burns and Schroeder's actions and those of early civil rights activists, but the judge cut her off.

"The court has ruled that the constitutionality of the (gay marriage ban) is not an issue at this trial," said Judge Breese. "There are other ways that (the issue) can be raised, and the defendants don't have standing to raise that issue."

Schroeder said after the trial, "(The court) not only squelched us, it squelched many of our supporters, who were not allowed to wear rainbow colored armbands."

But during the trial, Assistant City Attorney Chris Gaddis told the jury to focus on the charge -- trespassing -- and not on the women's argument that they were trying to change an unjust law.

He said both refused to leave when asked by the staff of the Clerk and Recorder's Office and Denver police officers. The police had been told by the women that they planned a peaceful sit-in if the license was refused.

"There are other steps, other avenues, you can use if you want to change the law," said Gaddis. "The system works, the country works, because everyone follows the law."

Prosecutors argued that the women intended to break the law because they invited the media to a news conference ahead of time. The defense argued that the case is about much more than alleged trespassing.

Schroeder testified that she she was somewhat afraid of getting arrested, but thought the Denver clerk might give them a license despite the law, as has happened in other states.

"It was important to get married because I love Kate Burns very much and I want that love to be honored in full view of the state and the country that I love," she said.

Once they were denied the license, Schroeder said they decided to engage in civil disobedience. They sat down, holding hands and the bouquets of flowers they brought in hopes of getting a marriage license.

"We sat down in front of the counter supported by our tax dollars that wasn't serving us that day," she said.

Burns told reporters after the trial that it will be "an honor to serve a sentence for something that may help improve our community and maybe help us take further steps on the road to justice."

"We're not surprised by the verdict," Newman said after the trial. "The road to civil rights, equality and fair treatment is a long one, and we're willing to continue as long as it takes."

After paying their fine, the couple went out to celebrate with supporters, KMGH reports.

They said that because of the support they've garnered from people all across the country, they feel, in a sense, like they won.

Full article: Lesbian couple guilty of trespassing - The Denver Post
Lesbian Couple Found Guilty Of Trespassing | KMGH 7-News
Gay couple found guilty | Rocky Mountain News