[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 53 (Thursday, March 23, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S935]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 118--RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF CLELA ROREX, A 
  PIONEERING COUNTY CLERK WHO, IN 1975, ADVANCED CIVIL RIGHTS FOR ALL 
                     COUPLES SEEKING TO BE MARRIED

  Mr. BENNET (for himself and Mr. Hickenlooper) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 118

       Whereas Clela Ann Rorex (referred to in this preamble as 
     ``Clela'') was born in Denver on July 23, 1943;
       Whereas Clela's mother, Ruby Rorex, was a dance and theater 
     teacher, and her father, Cecil Rorex, 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 
     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 Clela's 
     groundbreaking story, after which she 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, due to 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
       Resolved, 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, 2023, as ``Clela Rorex Day''.

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