Beau Chandler and his partner, Mark “Major” Jiminez were arrested yesterday at Dallas County Clerk Records Building after handcuffing themselves together because they were refused a marriage license.

At 4:30 p.m when the building was closed  everyone, including media, was instructed to leave.

The couple was not arrested until everyone else had left the office. When they came down the elevator, they were no longer handcuffed to each other but were handcuffed individually, each escorted by two sheriff’s deputies.

“We live in a land where we’re all supposed to be created equal, and by them denying us our marriage, we are not created equal,” Jiminez said.

Sr. Cpl. Laura Martin, LGBT liaison officer for the Dallas Police Department, accompanied the group, even though she didn’t have direct jurisdiction since they were in a county building. Lt. Shelley Knight, LGBT liaison for the sheriff’s department, also followed the couple.

“They’re the nicest couple,” Martin said of Chandler and Jiminez. “They’re the first guys after any protest to come up and thank the officers.”