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Terminally Ill Gay Woman Granted Early Marriage License
Terminally Ill Gay Woman Granted Early Marriage License
An Illinois same-sex couple will be allowed to marry before the marriage equality law takes effect because one of the women is terminally ill.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin on Monday ordered the Cook County clerk to issue an expedited marriage license to Vernita Gray and Patricia Ewert. Gray is terminally ill.
County Clerk David Orr said he’ll comply with the order.
Illinois’ gay marriage law takes effect June 1. But the gay rights group Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois filed a lawsuit seeking immediate action for Gray and Ewert. Gray has cancer in her brain and bones.
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Full post here: http://www.alan.com/2013/11/25/terminally-ill-gay-woman-granted-early-marriage-license/
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More info from the Chicago Tribune:
Gray, 64, and Ewert, 65, filed a lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court arguing that they should be granted the right to marry immediately. The women have been in a committed relationship for more than five years and in 2011 entered into a civil union.
Gray has lived in Illinois all her life and has terminal breast cancer. It was her last wish to be formally married to her partner, the couple's attorney's said.
<snip>
Gray is a graduate of Columbia College and spent 20 years working as a victims advocate in the Cook County court system. Ewert has lived in Cook County since 1980 and works as the community coordinator for state Rep. Kelly Cassidy.
According to their lawsuit, the two women met at an event hosted by the Cook County state's attorney's office and became friends. They began dating shortly after, fell in love and got engaged in 2009. The two also have participated in several commitment ceremonies.
In June 2013, Gray learned that the cancer had spread to her brain, the couple said in their lawsuit. She has had brain surgery since then but was recently told she may have only days or weeks to live.
Gray has lived in Illinois all her life and has terminal breast cancer. It was her last wish to be formally married to her partner, the couple's attorney's said.
<snip>
Gray is a graduate of Columbia College and spent 20 years working as a victims advocate in the Cook County court system. Ewert has lived in Cook County since 1980 and works as the community coordinator for state Rep. Kelly Cassidy.
According to their lawsuit, the two women met at an event hosted by the Cook County state's attorney's office and became friends. They began dating shortly after, fell in love and got engaged in 2009. The two also have participated in several commitment ceremonies.
In June 2013, Gray learned that the cancer had spread to her brain, the couple said in their lawsuit. She has had brain surgery since then but was recently told she may have only days or weeks to live.
The right things happened:
County Clerk David Orr said he would comply with the order by U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin. Orr said he also welcomed the ruling. "As a supporter of same-sex marriage, I'm pleased Judge Durkin granted relief to Patricia Ewert and Vernita Gray in this difficult time," he said in a statement.
Administrators from Orr's office hand-delivered the paperwork for a marriage license to the women's home Monday night, officials said. The couple have not announced their plans for a ceremony, but they are expected to wed this week.
