ABOVE: Mark Bias (L) and Carrie West. Photo via Hillsborough County Clerk/Facebook.
TAMPA | Longtime LGBTQ advocates Mark Bias and Carrie West were married Jan. 9 at the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court & Comptroller’s office after more than four decades together.
The couple has a long history of activism throughout Tampa Bay, having co-founded the current iteration of Tampa Pride and more. West currently serves as the organization’s president.
Hillsborough County Clerk Cindy Stuart, who also led last year’s “Love is Love” community wedding for Pride Month, officiated the ceremony. Her office noted they “got married today after 45 years of devotion!”
According to the clerk, the two “exchanged vows as well as the original charms from when they met in 1980. Carrie and Mark are both LGBTQIA advocates who have also devoted themselves to equality in the Tampa Bay area for decades.”
“This was meant to be!!!!” West shared.
As for Bias, he mused that “We never go to bed mad at each other. There have been nights we stayed up all night.”
View photos of their ceremony below.
