N.C. Lesbian Couple Found Guilty of Trespassing

A North Carolina lesbian couple who were arrested last year for staging a sit-in at the Buncombe County Register of Deeds office after being denied a marriage license were found guilty Tuesday of second-degree trespassing.

As part of the Coalition for Southern Equality's "We Do" Campaign, Rev. Kathryn Cartledge and her partner of 30 years, Elizabeth Eve, were among the first to request a license in October, and after their second attempt they refused to leave and were arrested and charged on October 14.

Cartledge, 65, and Eve, 66, have two children and four grandchildren.

Citizen-Times.com reports that after a brief trial, Judge Julie Kepple fined each woman $10.

"I can only take the $10 fine as seeming to be the [judge] trying to say that she was sorry she had to find this verdict of guilty," said Cartledge following the trial. "There are broader issues here, and we were successful in pointing those out."

Attorneys said the couple will appeal the convictions.

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