On May 30, 2025, a ceremony in downtown Boulder, Colorado, to commemorate a significant milestone in LGBTQ history. The Boulder County Courthouse was officially designated a National Historic Landmark, recognized for its role in the fight for marriage equality.
In 1975, then-County Clerk and Recorder Clela Rorex issued a marriage license to two men from Colorado Springs. This was decades before same-sex marriage would become legal nationwide. That moment is now enshrined in federal history.
“This building was the place where the first same-sex marriage licenses were issued 50 years ago. And the federal government acknowledges that, and it’s ours, and it’s here in our community, and it’s something that will be here forever,” said Mardi Moore, CEO of Rocky Mountain Equality and a close friend of Rorex.
Rorex, who passed away in 2022 just shy of her 79th birthday, never considered herself a hero, Moore said.
“She’s a legend in our minds, but not in her mind,” Moore said. “Clela would’ve poo-pooed a lot of this. She would’ve enjoyed it, but she didn’t want the spotlight. She was an ordinary person. She was a single mom with two kids. At the end of her life, she lived in an apartment in Longmont, and read, she was a voracious reader,” said Moore.
“She was a big women's rights activist. She stayed volunteering and was an active ally to the LGBT community.”
The event concluded with the unveiling of a bronze plaque on the courthouse wall, formally recognizing the building’s national landmark status. But one more surprise was in store: a marriage proposal.
Alex Herman dropped to one knee and proposed to her girlfriend, Addison Watts.
“It was the perfect time and place,” Herman said. “Because of the significance of everything.”
Watts said she was completely surprised.
“I’m not a public person in general,” she said, laughing.
The celebration came while LGBTQ people are being rolled back across the country, particularly for transgender Americans.
“As I was talking to some guests just walking through before we started the program today, that is what people were saying, (that) today is even more important,” said Boulder County Commissioner Marta Loachamin. “And it’s important for people to hear from, not just from their elected leaders, but to see allies being active and participating to make sure that folks feel and know that they're protected. It's not just, in my opinion, it's not just an erosion of, it's an attack on rights and specifically for our trans neighbors, community members, residents, and folks who work here in Boulder County.”
The U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2015 with the Obergefell v. Hodges decision, but Mardi Moore of Rocky Mountain Equality warned that the ruling may not be safe under the current, more conservative court.
“Justice Clarence Thomas has already signaled interest in revisiting Obergefell,” Moore said. “So we have to keep fighting. If you don’t work for your rights, you’ll lose them.”
Copyright 2025 Rocky Mountain Community Radio. This story was shared via Rocky Mountain Community Radio, a network of public media stations in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico, including Aspen Public Radio.
