Courthouse recognized as National Historic Landmark

‘A VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS’

Then-County Clerk Clela Rorex issued nation’s first same-sex marriage license in 1975

Mardi Moore, Rocky Mountain Equality CEO, speaks at the celebration. To kick off the start of LGBTQ+ Pride Month, the Boulder County Commissioners hosted a celebration of the historic Boulder County Courthouse and its designation as a National Historic Landmark. The status was granted in December in recognition of the significance of the building as the site of the issuance of the first same-sex marriage certificate. CLIFF GRASSMICK — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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By James Burky

jburky@prairiemountainmedia.com

Clela Rorex ingrained herself into American civil rights history when, as the then-Boulder county clerk, she issued the first same-sex marriage license in U.S. history in 1975. Her actions were further immortalized on Friday when the Boulder County Courthouse was officially designated as a national historic landmark.

Friday brought Boulder a reprieve from a week of rain and clouds with a warm, sunny day. The dozens of people gathered in front of the courthouse were all smiles alongside the rainbow of LGBTQ+ pride-colored balloons and running fountain in front of the building.

Then-Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced that the courthouse would be named a historic landmark in December 2024. On Friday, the building was christened with plaques honoring the designation.

Rorex, who died in 2022, and her allyship to the LGBTQ+ community was a central theme in Friday’s speeches. Stickers with her face backdropped by pride colors were handed out to attendees.

“We don’t know what our actions today, how they will ripple. And we need to think about that,” said event speaker Mardi Moore, CEO of Rocky Mountain Equality and a close friend of Rorex who was beside her in her final days.

“What courage are we showing today that, in 50 years, somebody’s going to be standing up, celebrating and saying, ‘I wouldn’t have had any of this if that one brave person wouldn’t have risked it all.’ So when you think about your work, when you think about what you are doing in the world for goodness, know that it has ripples and know that we are all connected, and our good work turns into generations of good work.”

U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse told the gathered crowd that Rorex was surely smiling down on the event. Moore wasn’t so sure.

“She’d say, ‘Oh what’s the fuss?’” Moore cracked. “Which is what she always said when we went to celebrate her.”

Rorex issued the groundbreaking license to Dave McCord and Dave Zamora, who were shunned by the El Paso county clerk for one. The clerk is said to have told the couple to “go to Boulder. They do that type of thing there,” Rorex recounted to Westword in 2018.

Rorex firmly stood by her decision despite uproar, which led to a mounting recall effort before she resigned in 1977.

She continued her support of the LGBTQ+ community throughout her life, and some of the fuss on Friday may have been the continuing impact of her actions, which was on full display at the ceremony.

After the final speech, Alex Hermann brought her partner Addison Watts up in front of the crowd. Even before she took a knee, the crowd began to cheer. Hermann knelt down and proposed. Watts, with a mile-wide smile, said yes.

“I was planning on proposing to her. The stars kind of aligned to do it. It was a great opportunity to celebrate this day and her,” Hermann said, flashing a smile to her fiance.

Neguse and Moore at the podium were Boulder County Commissioners Marta Loachamin and Ashley Stolzmann, and current County Clerk Molly Fitzpatrick.

Each speaker stressed the importance of celebrating equality, community and for allies to step up for vulnerable communities, especially as President Donald Trump’s policies target the LGBTQ+ community and progressive causes in general. National historic landmarks may lose their designation at the request of the owner or via an initiative by the Secretary of the Interior, according to the Code of Federal Regulations.

“Right now is a very scary time for so many in our community, and it’s important for those who have a platform and have influence to be a voice for the voiceless as Clela was,” Neguse told the Daily Camera, adding, “I hope that it inspires a new generation of Boulderites, of Coloradans, of citizens across our community to step forward and help their neighbors, particularly those who are under attack right now.”