A resolution recognizing the contributions of Clela Rorex, a pioneering county clerk who, in 1975, advanced civil rights for all couples seeking to be married.

Bill: 119-sres-163
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]
Introduced: 2025-04-09
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Latest action: action_date: 2025-04-09
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text: CR S2528: 1)

Summaries:

tv_txt: III 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 163 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 9, 2025 Mr. Bennet (for himself and Mr. Hickenlooper ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Recognizing the contributions of Clela Rorex, a pioneering county clerk who, in 1975, advanced civil rights for all couples seeking to be married.

Whereas Clela Ann Rorex (referred to in this preamble as Clela ) was born in Denver on July 23, 1943; Whereas Ruby Rorex, the mother of Clela, was a dance and theater teacher, and Cecil Rorex, the father of Clela, served for 30 years as clerk of Routt County, Colorado, where Clela grew up in Steamboat Springs; Whereas Clela earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1973 and a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Colorado Denver in 1981; Whereas, in January 1975, at the age of 31, Clela became the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder; Whereas, in 1975, when a same-sex couple requested a marriage license in Boulder County, Clela consulted the assistant district attorney and learned that Colorado state laws did not specifically prohibit granting a marriage license to a same-sex couple; Whereas, as a newly elected county clerk, Clela issued a marriage license to Dave McCord and Dave Zamora, the first marriage license issued to a same-sex couple in the United States; Whereas Clela was quoted in 2016 as saying, After having been so deeply involved in the women’s rights movements, who was I to then deny a right to anyone else? It wasn’t my job to legislate morality. ; Whereas, after issuing the first marriage license to a same-sex couple in 1975, Clela issued 5 more marriage licenses to same-sex couples over the next month; Whereas national news outlets circulated the groundbreaking story of Clela issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, after which Clela reported receiving a deluge of death threats and condemnation in hundreds of letters and phone calls to the Boulder County Clerk’s office; Whereas, despite the threats, Clela continued her advocacy efforts on behalf of the LGBTQ community, including by marching, volunteering, and donating to LGBTQ efforts for decades; Whereas, in 2014, a series of court rulings cleared the way for same-sex marriages in Colorado, and, in 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, 40 years after Clela issued the first same-sex marriage license in the United States; Whereas Clela was 78 years old when she died on June 19, 2022, in Longmont, Colorado; Whereas, in honor of Clela and her advocacy for human rights, Boulder County, Colorado, declared July 23, 2022, to be Clela Rorex Day ; and Whereas Clela should be recognized for her leadership as a national civil rights leader, paving the way for countless individuals: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1) recognizes— (A) the contributions of Clela Rorex as a pioneer for civil rights and same-sex marriage; (B) the respect and bravery Clela Rorex demonstrated when issuing the first same-sex marriage license in the United States; and (C) the courage Clela Rorex exhibited following the threats she received when she issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples; and (2) designates March 26, 2025, as Clela Rorex Day .