The Cook County Circuit Court was abuzz with gay rights supporters as the seven people arrested during Chicago’s Freedom to Marry Day protest had their trial date. The Marriage Equality 7—Buddy Bell, Erica Chu, Dale Fecker, Nick Ferrin, Jeff Graubart, Danielle Karczewski and Daniel Ware—were joined by fellow activists and friends in the court room, including Andy Thayer of the Gay Liberation Network and Drew Stoppels of Chicago’s Join the Impact chapter.

The recently minted Seven were arrested on February 14 for misdemeanor criminal trespass by remaining inside the marriage license bureau after it had closed. They told staff and security that they would not leave until the bureau issued a marriage license to Bell and Fecker. Police eventually arrived at 4:00 PM to arrest the demonstrators and released them at 2:15 AM the next morning.

The March 9 trial date was a flurry of activity as people were ushered into the courtroom, quieted down and cases were announced. The ME7 all approached the judge together, but due to the lack of a prosecuting argument, all charges were dismissed. The group celebrated with supporters outside the courthouse and were grateful for the experience to work for change, declaring, “We’re not gonna stop” and “If it doesn’t give us the same rights, it’s not good enough. Separate but equal is still not equal.” To that end, they immediately began discussing plans for their next action and are looking forward to helping make our divided country more equal.

Kevin Sparrow is a queer writer living in Chicago. Currently, Kevin is the editor of Cul de sac Magazine, an online blog dedicated to social justice and cultural analysis from an LGBT perspective.