U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced this week that the Boulder County Courthouse in Colorado has been designated a National Historic Landmark for being the site of the first issuing of a same-sex marriage license in the United States. 

On March 26, 1975, Boulder County Clerk Clela Rorex issued the license after confirming with the assistant district attorney that state law did not ban marriage between two people of the same sex. 

“This act of courage ignited a nationwide conversation about marriage equality and cemented the courthouse’s role as a symbol of hope and progress for the LGBTQ+ community,” the Boulder County Board of Commissioners wrote in a press release. “Within weeks, Rorex issued five more same-sex marriage licenses, and news outlets across the country spotlighted Boulder as a trailblazer for civil rights.”

The commission shared a quote from Rorex reflecting on the moment years after she issued that first license: “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.”

While the college town of Boulder has a liberal reputation now, it was deeply divided over gay rights in 1975, and few, including Rorex, had thought about same-sex couples marrying. Seeing a parallel with the women’s movement and finding nothing in the law to prevent it, the 31-year-old county clerk ultimately granted six licenses to gay couples before the state’s attorney general at the time, J.D. MacFarlane, ordered her to stop.

“Our community includes people of many races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, gender identities, and professions, and we consider this diversity an asset that enriches the lives of all of our residents,” Commissioner Claire Levy said in a statement. “Honoring the Boulder County Courthouse with a National Historic Landmark designation is a tribute to these neighbors and a ringing endorsement that America is still the land of the brave.”

Commissioner Marta Loachamin also pointed out that the moment “is particularly meaningful in today’s sociopolitical climate, where many Americans feel unwelcome or excluded. Recognizing the courthouse as a National Historic Landmark underscores the United States’ dedication to fostering a future built on equity and justice for all.”