18 June 2008

Clerk to Stop Officiating?

The recent Supreme Court Decision to lift the ban on gay marriage in California has caused little uproar. Yet one county clerk has taken it upon herself to refuse the sale of all marriage licenses in her county. In this NPR.org report, the clerk cites financial reasons for her decision, yet I believe her decision aligns too conveniently with the court's overturning of the same-sex marriage ban. While her office did not sell licenses on the first evening of the ban's lift, her office was forced to sell licenses to about forty same-sex couples today.

While the ban has been lifted for now, there has been a call for its reinstatement. The same-sex marriage ban will once again appear on the California ballot in November.

4 comments:

Merry said...

I live in/around the Bakersfield area. It is one of the few conservative havens left in California, so no one in Bakersfield actually raised much of a fuss. In fact, one of the reasons that California's gay marriage ban has been slipping is because people are growing apathetic when it comes to that issue, which leaves lots of room for adamant supporters of gay marriage to increase their influence. Just thought you might want to know.

Drew said...

Hmmm... Well, the NPR report didn't quite paint it that way. Why do you think so many Californians are becoming apathetic to the issue? Has there been too much publicity around the issue? I take it the larger news media made more of a fuss than the actual community.

Merry said...

Despite numerous efforts, there wasn't a whole lot to report. The clerk wouldn't speak except through a lawyer and it was taken out of her hands fairly quickly. There are very few gay advocates in this part of California. People are apathetic mainly because it has been taken out of their hands and into the courts. The message most of us get is that we can pass all the laws we want (and California loves its propositions) but it is an individual rights issue. Like segregation, it is seen as an issue for the courts to decide, not the people.

and that was a quick response!

Drew said...

Thanks! I do nothing but work on a computer all day, so I'm pretty quick to respond to all the mail I get.