Homosexual Texas couples denied marriage licenses (Austin)

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Homosexual Texas couples denied marriage licenses
Travis County clerk's office refuses to issue documents as state gay rights group urges attempts

By Claire Osborn

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Saturday, February 14, 2004

Emboldened by their peers in San Francisco, seven gay couples applied for marriage licenses at the Travis County clerk's office Friday. All of the Travis couples were denied.

Texas, like all the other states, doesn't recognize same-sex marriages. In San Francisco, however, Mayor Gavin Newsom directed clerks to change marriage application forms so licenses could be issued to gay couples. The move prompted a lawsuit by conservatives as homosexual couples rushed to tie the knot.

By Friday night, 559 gay couples had gotten married at San Francisco's City Hall since Thursday, according to an Associated Press tally. Gays around the country also sought marriage licenses in their home states.

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