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October 16, 2014 VOLU M E 51 | I SS UE 9 | 5 0 ¢ SPECIAL SECTION
Northglenn-ThorntonSentinel.com
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Wedding bells possible after 35 years Thornton couple rejoices after attorney general clears way for gay marriage By Tammy Kranz
tkranz@colorado communitymedia.com After hearing the news on the drive into her Westminster office Oct. 6, Rebecca Brinkman raced to her desk to hurriedly type an email. “Will you still marry me?” She had asked the question before to the love of her life over the course of their 35 years together, but harbored little hope a wedding could ever happen. “I never thought we would see marriage in our lifetime,” said the smiling 63-year-old Thornton resident, looking at her fiancée two days later. But because of a legal domino effect started by the U.S. Supreme Court last week, Brinkman and Margaret Burd, along with other gay couples in Colorado, can now legally marry. Brinkman and Burd were the first to file a lawsuit in the state challenging the ban on same-gender marriages. Brinkman and Burd met in 1976 when they were teachers
Rebecca Brinkman and Margaret Burd outside their Thornton home Oct. 8. The women were the first to file a lawsuit in the state challenging the ban on same gender marriages. Photo by Tammy Kranz in Kansas City, Mo. — Brinkman taught health and physical education and Burd taught math. “In 1979 we declared we were a couple and committed to each other,” Brinkman said. They bought each other rings,
but did not tell the jeweler the significance. “It was so closeted back then,” Burd, 62, said. Meanwhile, the women continued with their education. Brinkman earned a master’s of
science degree in education in 1979 and graduated from Cleveland College of Chiropractic in 1986. Burg received her master’s degree in computer science. In 1985, the couple moved to Broomfield after Burg landed a
job with AT&T Bell Lab. Brinkman opened Sheridan Park Chiropractic Center in 1986. They relocated in 1991 to Thornton. These days, Brinkman is partially retired, having sold her practice, and Burd is the CEO and president of Magpie — a custom software design and development firm she founded in 2001. They share their spacious home with two cats they found as strays — Scout and Idgie, named, respectively, after literary characters in “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Fried Green Tomatoes.” Marriage did not seem likely, but last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Windsor gave them a spark of hope. In that case, the court ruled unconstitutional a ban on federal benefits for gay couples. “At that point I thought there would be a change in the country,” Brinkman said. They discussed with an attorney the possibility of litigation if the Adams County Clerk and Recorder denied them marriage license. “We discussed it multiple times,” Burd said. The indecisiveness stemmed from an experience in the early 1990s when they openly fought against proposed Amendment 2 Wedding continues on Page 5
Adams County judge’s ruling on gay marriage becomes law By Tammy Kranz
tkranz@colorado communitymedia.com POSTAL ADDRESS
NORTHGLENN-THORNTON SENTINEL (ISSN 1044-4254) (USPS 854-980) OFFICE: 8703 Yates Dr., Ste. 210 Westminster, CO 80031 PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Adams County, Colorado, the NorthglennThornton Sentinel is published weekly on Thursday by MetroNorth Newspapers, 8703 Yates DR., Ste. 210 Westminster, CO 80031. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT WESTMINSTER, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 8703 Yates Dr., Ste. 210 Westminster, CO 80031 DEADLINES: Display: Fri. 11 a.m. Legal: Fri. 11 a.m. | Classified: Mon. 5 p.m. G ET SOCIAL WITH US
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Rebecca Brinkman and Margaret Burd of Thornton filed the first lawsuit in the state challenging the ban on same-gender marriage. They filed the suit nearly a year ago, right after the Adams County Clerk and Recorder office denied their application for a marriage license. The lawsuit said the ban on gay marriages violated the federal Civil Rights Act of 1871. “The ban on same gender marriages violates the equal protection clause and the due process clause of the 14th Amendment,” said Ralph Ogden, the attorney who represented Brinkman and Burd. Although state lawmakers passed a law last year to allow civil unions, Ogden argued it was not the same as marriage. For starters, he said, the federal government doesn’t recognize civil unions so those partners don’t have the same
benefits as married couples. Also, he added, “A civil union does not equal the dignity in a marriage.” Brinkman and Burd said they were not interested in pursuing a ballot question in 2016 to change the state constitution about gay marriage. “Civil rights should not be up for popular vote,” Brinkman said. Instead, they hired Ogden to argue their case. Their lawsuit was consolidated with a similar lawsuit filed by eight other couples in Denver and was heard by Adams County District Court Judge Scott Crabtree. In July, Crabtree ruled in favor of the couples, declaring Colorado’s ban on gay marriage to be unconstitutional. However, he stayed his ruling until the higher courts could weigh in on the issue. The highest court of the land essentially did just that on Oct. 6. The U.S. Supreme Court decided to not review cases regarding gay marriages, which upheld lower courts decisions allowing gay couples to marry in Utah, Oklahoma,
Virginia, Indiana and Wisconsin. The court’s decision prompted Colorado Attorney General John Suthers to remove any obstacles that prevented gay marriage in the state, including lifting the stay on Crabtree’s ruling. “That means Judge Crabtree’s ruling became law in Colorado,” Ogden said. In a statement last week, Suthers said the state’s 64 county clerks were legally required to issue licenses to same-sex couples. “There are no remaining legal requirements that prevent samesex couples from legally marrying in Colorado,” he said. The legal domino effect last week means that gay marriage is allowed in 30 states. “We’re very happy Attorney General John Suthers is clearing the way for marriage equality in the state and we’re happy for the couples who can marry,” said Rex Fuller, director of communications with the GLBT Community Center of Colorado. While this was a good step, he added that it would be nice if all
couples across the nation could have this right. Brinkman shares Fuller’s sentiment. “In my heart of hearts, I wish the Supreme Court would have ruled,” she said. “It leaves out people in the Midwest and South.” However, Ogden feels the highest court has made it clear what would happen if a case does reach them and they had to rule. “My belief is a 5-4 vote in favor of striking the (marriage) bans,” he said. “I think the Supreme Court has spoken.” Ogden said he’s tried 20 to 30 civil rights cases in his career, but this case means the most to him. “This is the victory I’m most proud of,” he said. “I have a lot of gay friends. I have a gay son. It means tens of thousands of people in Colorado and a rapidly increasing number of states can have the same dignified relationship as my wife and I have. And it undoes a great injustice.”
Court won’t hear appeal on Martinez residency By Tammy Kranz
tkranz@colorado communitymedia.com The Colorado Supreme Court decided not to hear a case against Cynthia Martinez, Democratic candidate for Adams County clerk and recorder, which questioned her residency and eligibility to run for office. Her opponent, Republican Stan Martin, filed a petition against her, claiming she does not live in her Brighton home that she has owned since 2006, but that she
lives with her family in their Lafayette home. “Adams County deserves to be represented by one of their own, someone who lives in Adams County, not Boulder County,” he said. Martin challenged Martinez’s residency and eligibility to run for an Adams County office, and also named Clerk and Recorder Karen Long in the petition, saying she breached her duty by printing Martinez continues on Page 5
Candidates for Adams County Clerk & Recorder Republican Stan Martin and Democrat Cynthia Martinez listen to the moderator during a Candidates Meeting Sept. 30 hosted by the League of Women Voters of Adams County at Skyview Campus in Thornton. Photo by Tammy Kranz