[iamkeri1]

SuperFemme, I'm not criticizing you for posting this - it is interesting info to have, this is just my take on the situation.

The only thing that would disturb me about the background of either of these men would be if their case was dismissed because of their being frequent law suit filers. One way or another, filing the case brings attention to the inequity of the situation in Wyoming.

Jane Roe, the un-named plaintiff in Roe vs Wade (the case that made abortion legal in the United States,), later became a right-to-lifer and worked to get Roe vs Wade rescinded. I'm sorry if she later came to regret her choice, but in my very pragmatic viewpoint, she served her purpose in that case. What she decided to do later did not matter.

Whether these guys are gay or not, I don't care. I also don't care whether they lied about applying for and being turned down for a license (is the clerk alleging that she WOULD have issued them a license had they applied? - I don't think so.) I also don't care about their mental health status, as long as neither of them have been declared incompent. The point is, same sex marriage is illegal in Wyoming, and they are working to get that changed. They may not be the perfect couple to take on this challenge. I'm sure the state of Wyoming would try to besmirch the reputation of Jesus Christ himself if he was a litigant in this suit. By the way, did he and John the beloved apostle ever file for domestic partnership? - can't seem to remember, LOL)

If we can welcome support from Ken Mehlman, then we should be able to welcome it from a guy with a history of manic depression. Are other folks with manic depression denied marriage licenses? If not, then they should give one to this guy no matter how shady he is, as long as he is single.

As Christian like to say..."we're not perfect, we're just forgiven", I want to be able to say "We're not perfect either, but we do have the right to get married"

That's my take on it any way.
Smooches,
Keri

Originally Posted by SuperFemme

Uh oh: Wyoming gay marriage case a con?

By Jennifer Vanasco, editor in chief, 365gay.com
08.30.2010 6:00pm EDT

The Billings Gazette is reporting that the two men who are suing for gay marriage in Wyoming have troubling backgrounds.

The couple, who are representing themselves, may not have actually applied for a marriage license; LezGetReal says they may not, in fact be gay, though it’s not clear what benefit they’d get from pretending to be, or from filing this suit.

From the Gazette:

For one thing, there’s a dispute over the basic facts of the case.
In the suit, Shupe-Roderick and Dupree allege that they went to the Laramie County Clerk’s office on Aug. 9 to apply for a marriage license, only to be turned down because they were a same-sex couple. In a subsequent media interview, Shupe-Roderick said they went to the clerk’s office two additional times and spoke with Laramie County Clerk Debbie Lathrop.

However, Lathrop, a defendant in the lawsuit, said neither she nor any of her staff has any recollection of the couple applying for a marriage license from her office.

Then there is the shady background of David Shupe-Roderick:

Gay-rights proponents are also concerned that the plaintiffs aren’t exactly a poster couple for their cause – especially David Shupe-Roderick, a convicted felon with a history of mental illness.
Shupe-Roderick, 25, served 4 years in the Wyoming State Penitentiary after he, his brother, and their two girlfriends left Cheyenne in a rental car in January 2004. When they didn’t return the rental car on time, the rental company contacted police. Two days later, Shupe-Roderick – then known as Gerald Shupe — was arrested in Arkansas after being pulled over for an illegal lane change.

After being sentenced, Shupe-Roderick unsuccessfully requested a reduction in his prison sentence on the grounds that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and wasn’t taking his prescribed medication when he took the rental car.

Shupe-Roderick is currently being prosecuted for falsifying state documents. Last October, he applied to become a notary public, and he allegedly certified on his application form that he wasn’t a convicted felon. The lawsuit also alleges Shupe-Roderick used a fake same-sex union certificate from Massachusetts to obtain a Wyoming driver’s license.

Shupe-Roderick has also been a plaintiff in court as frequently as he has been a defendant. Besides the gay marriage case, he’s filed five other lawsuits in the past three years. In one, he accused prison guards of sexual misconduct, and in another, he accused a would-be business client of assault and breach of contract. He has also sought $16,398 in loans and debts from his former employers/roommates and asserted that Bank of America unlawfully refused to release $5,107 from his bank account. All of those cases were eventually dropped or dismissed.

The Gazette says that Shupe-Roderick expected this to be a quiet lawsuit and has been surprised at the attention it has received.

Do you live in Wyoming? Do you have more information on the couple? Let us know in the comments…