Some members of the gay community will head to Richmond's John Marshall Courts Building today to request marriage licenses.

Each Valentine's Day for the past several years, gay couples have gone to the court clerk to request permission to marry, knowing that they'd likely be turned away. Virginia law does not allow same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses.

The couples apply each year in honor of National Freedom to Marry Week, a campaign to establish marriage rights for same-sex couples.

The court visit at noon will be followed by a statement outside the courthouse by members of the Metropolitan Community Church of Richmond, the local congregation of an international Protestant denomination that serves the gay community.