Kern County California — No Marriages Performed

As discussed earlier on this blog, same-sex couples will be able to marry in California starting June 17, 2008 unless the California Supreme Court stays its opinion until after the November elections.

To keep from having to perform same-sex marriages, Kern County may be refusing to perform any marriages rather than be “forced” to perform same-sex marriages.  Kern County officials, however, claim that their decision is economic and has nothing to do with same-sex marriages.

The following excerpts are from Jesse McKinley, ‘I Do’? Oh, No. Not Here You Don’t, NY Times, June 13, 2008:

In a statement, County Clerk Ann K. Barnett announced that her office would not solemnize any wedding vows after Friday, a move that she said reflected administrative and budgetary concerns, but that gay rights activists think reflects Ms. Barnett’s distaste for same-sex marriage. The decision does not affect the ability of any couple in the county to obtain a marriage license.

Ms. Barnett’s decision seems to be part of a spate of local efforts by opponents of same-sex marriage to hinder the carrying out of the Supreme Court’s May 15 ruling overturning two state laws that banned such unions. A subsequent ruling decreed that the marriages could begin at 5 p.m. on June 16, though most counties will wait until June 17.

Just days after Mr. Barnett’s announcement on June 5, officials in Butte County, north of Sacramento, the state capital, said they too would cancel their civil ceremonies, citing financial reasons, though they said the decision was made months ago. Officials in Merced County, in the heart of the state’s conservative Central Valley, also announced the same thing, though they quickly reversed course.