III
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION S. RES. 163
Recognizing the contributions of Clela Rorex, a pioneering county clerk who,
in 1975, advanced civil rights for all couples seeking to be married.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
APRIL9, 2025
Mr. B
ENNET(for himself and Mr. HICKENLOOPER) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the contributions of Clela Rorex, a pioneering
county clerk who, in 1975, advanced civil rights for all
couples seeking to be married.
Whereas Clela Ann Rorex (referred to in this preamble as
‘‘Clela’’) was born in Denver on July 23, 1943;
Whereas Ruby Rorex, the mother of Clela, was a dance and
theater teacher, and Cecil Rorex, the father of Clela,
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 Univer-
sity of Colorado Boulder in 1973 and a master’s degree
in Public Administration from the University of Colorado
Denver in 1981;
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Whereas, in January 1975, at the age of 31, Clela became
the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder;
Whereas, in 1975, when a same-sex couple requested a mar-
riage license in Boulder County, Clela consulted the as-
sistant district attorney and learned that Colorado state
laws did not specifically prohibit granting a marriage li-
cense to a same-sex couple;
Whereas, as a newly elected county clerk, Clela issued a mar-
riage 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 the groundbreaking
story of Clela issuing marriage licenses to same-sex cou-
ples, after which Clela 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
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•SRES 163 IS
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, in honor of Clela and 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
(1) recognizes— 2
(A) the contributions of Clela Rorex as a 3
pioneer for civil rights and same-sex marriage; 4
(B) the respect and bravery Clela Rorex 5
demonstrated when issuing the first same-sex 6
marriage license in the United States; and 7
(C) the courage Clela Rorex exhibited fol-8
lowing the threats she received when she issued 9
marriage licenses to same-sex couples; and 10
(2) designates March 26, 2025, as ‘‘Clela Rorex 11
Day’’. 12
Æ
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