US: Bride who married at ‘historic’ Mississippi lesbian wedding dies, aged 34
A bride who was married to her wife in a controversial front-page Mississippi wedding in February, has died following her battle with brain cancer.
Despite the state constitution banning same-sex weddings, Jessica Powell and Crystal Craven got married at the beginning of February, for fear that they could not wait for it to become legal because of Crystal’s ongoing battle with brain cancer.
On Monday, after a return of a tumour on her brain, and having decided not to go through another course of chemotherapy, Crystal passed away.
Family, friends and Mrs Craven’s doctors attended the wedding, which was featured on the front page of the paper, and Mrs Craven was quoted as saying: “If chemo doesn’t work, we don’t know what happens after that.”
The owner of the newspaper Jim Cegielski, had said that, despite angry phone calls, cancelled subscriptions and outcry at him featuring the couple’s wedding on his front page, when it came to such events, to his paper, no one in the community would be invisible.
Powell said that, even though it was a sad decision to make, Crystal decided not to go through chemo again. She said: “Crystal told me that she was tired of hurting, tired of being sick and tired of fighting.”
She went on to say that they had never intended the wedding to be a political statement, but that she was pleased for all of the support they received.
“We have so much support from other states,” Powell said. “The world can’t get better unless change is in it.”
“After this is over, I’m going to do me and hang out with my son,” she said. “I’ve already been with the person I was supposed to be with, and some people never get that chance. I’m grateful for the time I have spent with her.”
Speaking of their wedding day, she said: “My vow to her was forever, not until death do us part.”
