OYSTER BAY, N.Y.—A gay couple on Long Island couldn’t get a marriage license when they went into their town clerk’s office, but they did get a ticket for trespassing.

Dan Pinello and Lee Nissensohn risked arrest when they walked into the Oyster Bay clerk’s office about 3:30 p.m. April 28 to apply for a marriage license and launched a sit-in when they were refused. The middle-aged couple walked out two hours later holding trespassing tickets.

The two men hoped their stunt would draw attention to what they argue is a need for a law in New York that would make same-sex marriage legal. They want to pressure state senators to allow a vote on a same-sex marriage bill.