Lesbian couple talks about their marriage battle with the Cherokee Nation

32 year old Dawn McKinley and 27 Kathy Reynolds were married Tuesday at Tulsa's Mohawk Park, after a tribal court clerk issued a marriage application to the couple last week. <br/><br/>But their marriage

Wednesday, May 19th 2004, 5:37 am

By: News On 6

32 year old Dawn McKinley and 27 Kathy Reynolds were married Tuesday at Tulsa's Mohawk Park, after a tribal court clerk issued a marriage application to the couple last week.

But their marriage is still "not" legal. The News on 6 was the only television station to talk to the couple Wednesday.

Dawn and Kathy say they just want the same rights as heterosexual couples. A Cherokee Nation court clerk refused to sign their marriage certificate because of the moratorium placed on same sex marriages.

Kathy Reynolds: â€œwe thought here it goes nothing. We'll try it."

Dawn McKinley: "they didn't even flinch when we handed them our stuff. They didn't even question us and for them to shut it down afterwards is wrong. They issued it, now honor it."

They're challenging the Cherokee Nation law, which they say, isn't gender specific. However, the Cherokee Nation stands by the tribal law that recognizes marriage between only a man and a woman.