After being together for 23 years, Glynis Verrazzano and Sandra Culpepper, were excited Thursday morning with a single piece of paper.
“This is awesome. This is so cool,” Verrazzano said as she unfolded a paper that read “Marriage License State of Colorado.”
“This says it all right here,” she said.
Verrazzano and Culpepper were the first in Montezuma County to get a marriage license, as opposed to a civil union license.
On Oct. 7, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers ordered all Colorado clerks to start issuing same-sex marriage licenses after the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear appeals regarding several states’ marriage bans.
“We are no longer second-class citizens,” Culpepper said.
On July 20, 2013, the couple received a “Civil Union License” from Montezuma County after a wedding ceremony on their property near Mancos.
But the civil union license, Verrazzano said, only treated the couple as a married couple in Colorado. They still were not able to file federal taxes together, or adopt children together or visit each other in a hospital in states that didn’t recognize their union.
“This means we have all the rights as any married couple now,” Verrazzano said.
The two planned on spending the rainy Thursday in the mountains. They wanted to enjoy the fall scenery to celebrate their marriage, which was completed with a couple of signatures at the Montezuma County Clerk’s office at 9 a.m.
“It’s a big deal having federal benefits,” Verrazzano said.
The couple has raised three children, and now that they’re officially married, they can both be treated as legal guardians.
“I’ve been her mom since she was born, now that is recognized,” Verrazzano said. “A piece of paper does all that.”
Verrazzano is a retired fire captain. Culpepper is a retired homicide detective. Both are from North Carolina. The couple have lived in Montezuma County for five years.
The two plan on a big honeymoon next year.
When Colorado started issuing the civil union licenses last year, they issued eight, according to the Montezuma County Clerk’s office.
As of Friday, only one of those has been turned into a marriage license.
A marriage license costs $30.