The Ninth Montgomery County Couple: Blair Berger and Jessie Parker

Executive Director of PhillyGayCalendar


 

It was all due to the Rachel Maddow blog, according to West Chester, Pennsylvania residents Blair Berger and Jessie Parker, lesbian partners who were the ninth gay couple to receive marriage licenses from Montgomery County last week. 

“I refreshed the blog on my computer and a picture of the first married lesbian couple [in Pennsylvania] appeared,” said Parker.

When Parker called her girlfriend of two and a half years, Berger, and told her the news about the marriage licenses being granted in Montgomery County, Berger was ecstatic.

“I freaked out!” said Berger.  “I had no idea!”

The couple, who were engaged for a year, met over five years ago as volunteers at a non-profit organization.  After digesting the news from the Maddow blog, both Berger and Parker felt like the choice was a no-brainer.  The next day, they made the half-hour trip to Montgomery County to file for a marriage license.

“We would have made that trip from anywhere in the state,” said Parker.  “It was like our rights were a half an hour away.”

When they arrived to the courthouse, both women were surprised to find that they were only the third gay couple of the day to request a license.  Although they found the staff and security guards to be extremely friendly, Parker and Berger were even more surprised by the first question that was asked by a clerk: “Who wants to be the husband?”

“It was the very first thing they asked us.  [The clerk] said, ‘I’m so sorry, but I have to ask this question,’” said Berger.

It turned out that the reason why they were asked was because the county did not have the opportunity to change the marriage application forms to reflect gay requests.  Indeed, the fact that Parker and Berger were the ninth gay couple to be married in the state of Pennsylvania is something that the pair finds to be significant.

“We were in the first ten,” stated Berger.  “That fact…it is something that makes us feel like we are a part of history.”

Although there is much for the couple to celebrate, many gay rights organizations are remaining cautious to hail the landmark actions in Montgomery County.  In a statement released by ACLU spokeswoman Molly Tack-Hooper, the organization claims that the newly-married gay couples “should be aware that there might be uncertainty about the legal statuses of those marriages for a while because unfortunately, in other states, governments have later invalidated the marriages.”

When asked about this uncertainty, Berger and Parker claim they are optimistic about the outlook.

“We are waiting for something to happen,” said Berger.  “Corbett hasn’t done anything yet.  Nobody else has.”

“Even if we have to, we will do it again,” stated Parker.  “We are fully aware of how quickly this can be taken away.”

This fact underlines the overarching reason why the couple wanted to get married.  Both Berger and Parker said that the message that they want to send “non-activist” citizens is that gay marriage is a human rights issue.

“It is one thing to fall in love and another thing to not be able to express that love legally,” said Berger.  “It feels so good to not be considered second-class citizens.”

Parker agreed.

“We were never searching for a marriage certificate,” she said.  “But, there were certain things that we legally needed that we just didn’t have.”

For the time being, the couple must wait approximately two months to see if their marriage application and certificate is, indeed, validated.  When asked what advice they had to offer to gay couples who are considering a trip to Montgomery County, Berger and Parker emphatically encourage them to just “do it.”

“Whether they get [the license] validated or not, it is liberating,” stated Parker.

“It’s a celebration that never should have happened in the first place,” said Berger, in reaction to the notion that “gay” marriage licenses have caused national media attention.  “It’s thrilling and satisfying.  It’s still a celebration, no matter what happens.”

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