A lesbian couple has asked the state Supreme Court to force the Kanawha County Clerk's office to start issuing same-sex marriage licenses.

Pat Link and Sheila Chambers filed the petition Friday, after Kanawha County Clerk Alma King told their lawyer she would not issue the license.

The clerk cited state law, which describes marriage as a "loving and lifelong union between a woman and a man."

Link and Chambers have been together 23 years. The couple was married in Canada last year and celebrated a civil union in Vermont in 2001.

Chambers' recent retirement and the realization that her married co-workers could leave survivor benefits to their spouses prompted the lawsuit.

Link says it's an issue of equality, and says she's prepared to continue to fight this fight forever.

Same-sex marriages became a national issue last November when Massachusetts' highest court ruled that gay couples are entitled to all the rights of marriage.

West Virginia's justices haven't set a date to consider the petition.