Campaign for Southern Equality made national news yesterday when activists from the organization attempted to secure marriage licenses in Greenville, S.C., as part of the organization's We Do Campaign.

Three couples from the group, Michel McVicker and Alyssa Weaver, Pastor Ra’Shawn Barlow-Flournoy and Pastor Kelvin Barlow-Flournoy, and April Whittington and Tanika Jones, requested marriage licenses yesterday at the County Probate Court in Greenville, S.C.

All three couples were denied because they did not meet the legal requirements for marriage in the state. South Carolina has a constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions.

Campaign for Southern Equality says ‘We Do’

CSE is a regional organization dedicated to working toward full LGBT equality in the Deep South. The organization held a similar demonstration in October of 2011 in Asheville.

Several couples from the organization are expected to again apply for marriage licenses in Greenville and Charleston, S.C., today, according to the group’s website.

“LGBT people and families live all across South Carolina and the South, yet do so as second class citizens. The people taking part in the We Do Campaign are standing up to say, we are equal and discriminatory laws must change on the federal level,” Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality, said on the group’s website.

Top photo: Activists from Campaign for Southern Equality in Greenville, South Carolina (by Ashley Arrington/courtesy CSE)