By Connie Mabin
The Associated Press

CLEVELAND - Thom Rankin and Ray Zander have been in love for nearly two decades.

They own a home together. They volunteer together at church. They're active in their community.

On Friday, they will ask for a marriage license they know the state of Ohio forbids them to get.

But that won't stop the pair who will be among about 100 couples who plan to ask Cuyahoga County Probate Court to grant them the licenses.

As much as they'd like to, getting hitched is not the point.

"I hope that it at least brings people to the table to hear our views," said Rankin, a retired mortgage loan business owner from suburban Westlake. "We may not agree, but let's come to an understanding that there are certain rights that need to be given to people."

Court Administrator John Polito said Monday that the licenses would not be granted.

"We have had prior experiences when couples have come in asking for a license. We advise them that the law does not permit for a marriage license issue to people of the same sex," he said.

Gay marriage is not legal in any state. Gov. Bob Taft signed a law in January making Ohio the 38th state to bar recognition of gay marriages and the second to deny some benefits to unmarried employees' partners. The law, which doesn't affect policies of private businesses or local governments, takes effect in May.

The Rev. Jimmie Hicks Jr., of Calvary Church of God in Christ in suburban Cleveland Heights, said he is happy the licenses won't be issued in Cleveland the way 4,037 were given to gay couples recently in San Francisco before a court shut down same-sex marriages performed in the city. The Cleveland Heights councilman has sued to block a domestic registry his city started last month.

"We're made to seem as though we're extremists, that our views are hurtful to people and they're not. It's what we believe," Hicks said. "We don't hate the individual, but we look at the homosexual act just like we look at adultery, at pornography, you know, any sin. That's what the Bible said."

Cleveland Heights issues certificates recognizing gay and straight unmarried couples who apply for the registry. Proponents say the certificates, which bear no legal weight, help couples get shared insurance, hospital visiting rights and other benefits.

Those rights are a big part of what motivates Rankin, 50, and Zander, 51. They have been together 17 years and have wills leaving their possessions to each another if one of them dies.

The couple would like the government to recognize their relationship and to offer some of the 1,000-plus benefits they say are available to straight married couples, including tax breaks and social security death benefits.

Zander, a self-employed home decorator and costume designer, hopes seeking a marriage license will cause people to think about the issue "and hopefully agree with us that this is discrimination, a bias that is unfair in America where everyone is supposed to be treated equal."

Patti Verde, 43, a social worker and part-time pastor at Liberation Church of Christ in suburban Lakewood, also plans to seek a license Friday.

"This is an important effort at this time to help people across the country to see, 'you know, it's not just people in San Francisco who would like to have equal rights,"' she said.

She has been with her partner, Linda Krasienko, for seven years.

Krasienko, 52, a licensed minister and occupational therapist, said she wants some people to see gay relationships differently.

"We are serious about our relationship and our relationship is built on love and commitment, on the same values that they value in their marriages," she said.

Their attempt will come a month after six gay couples tried unsuccessfully to get marriage licenses in Columbus.

This past weekend, 500 people watched dozens of heterosexual couples renew their marriage vows at the Mt. Sinai Baptist Church in Cleveland in what church leaders say was a symbolic stance against gay marriage.

The Lesbian Gay Community Center of Greater Cleveland is organizing the event, which will include a rally outside the court.

"There's a lot against us right now and the more attention we can bring, the more support we can gain, the more likely we are to create change," said Tim Marshall, the group's spokesman.

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On the Net

Lesbian Gay Community Center: http://www.lgcsc.org/

Cuyahoga County Probate Court: http://www.cuyahoga.oh.us/probate/marriage.htm