BOULDER – The two women who sparked discussions about same-sex marriage in Colorado say they did what they did because they felt it was right.
Current Boulder County Clerk Hillary Hall and her predecessor, Clela Rorex, sat down with 9NEWS after all Colorado clerks began issuing licenses Tuesday.
Rorex was the first clerk in the country to issue a same-sex marriage license to a couple in 1975. She says she consulted with the district attorney in Boulder at the time who told her the state's current law didn't specifically ban marriage between two people of the same sex.
"I've gone 40 years without every apologizing for my decision or regretting it," Rorex said.
But the Colorado Attorney General at the time issued an opinion that Rorex's decision was against the law. After issuing six licenses, Rorex stopped a few months later.
Almost 40 years after Rorex, Hall decided this summer to begin issuing licenses after the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Colorado, ruled same-sex marriage bans to be unconstitutional.
"I got all these text messages saying Hillary is issuing marriage licenses and it hit me," Rorex said.
She got to know Hall well over the following months, but says she didn't offer her much advice.
"Hillary didn't need encouragement," Rorex said.
But Hall says their new friendship did help with her effort.
"I really appreciated the perspective," Hall said.
Both agree the battle isn't over.
"I couldn't believe we'd been having this conversation for almost 40 years, and I still can't believe it and we're not done having the conversation," Hall said.
(KUSA-TV © 2014 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)
