After all the
confusion about the status of marriage equality in Florida the last two to three weeks, all sixty-seven counties (the clerks of court) say that they will issue marriage licenses to same sex couples when marriage equality goes into effect in Florida next Tuesday, the 6th.
From The Gainesville Sun:
Clerks around the state had a lengthy conference call Friday morning, in which they were told that U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle had clarified his Washington County ruling to mean that county clerks should issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples or risk being sued.
All the state's clerks have said they will issue licenses.
In Alachua County, Clerk Buddy Irby said his office will open a few minutes early Tuesday morning to help ensure a glitch-free process for couples seeking a marriage license. The licensing process should take only a few minutes, and once it's done, couples who have taken a premarital counseling course can wed immediately, he said
The city of Orlando and the Metropolitan Business Association, Central Florida's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender chamber of commerce, will host a "Vowed & Proud" celebration with a group marriage ceremony officiated by Mayor Buddy Dyer at city hall.
There is still a hearing in Miami-Dade County (on Monday) with a state judge there who
ruled the marriage ban(s) unconstitutional but stayed the ruling. The county clerk there wants the stay lifted. I suspect that the county judge, Judge Zabel, will lift the stay and tell the clerk of court to issue the licenses.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, there are fourteen counties that will not be offering courthouse wedding ceremonies.
From the Tampa Bay Times:
Although there is no authoritative list of the Florida counties that have stopped offering courthouse weddings, the counties that confirmed their decisions to the Tampa Bay Times and other news outlets include: Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Holmes, Washington, Jackson, Calhoun, Liberty, Franklin, Wakulla, Baker, Clay, Duval and Pasco. According to Bay County's website, it no longer offers marriage ceremonies, though it is unclear when that policy was changed. The clerk of court did not respond to a request for comment.
via
JMG
All of those counties are either in the panhandle or northeast Florida (close to Jacksonville) except for Pasco County (which is north of Tampa).
From a Tampa Bay Times Editorial:
There will be challenges to overcome even when Tuesday arrives. Court clerks in a handful of North Florida counties say they will issue marriage licenses but no longer perform marriages for gay or straight couples. It recalls an earlier era when public schools in some parts of the South closed rather than accept black students, and it also will not stand the test of time.
For Florida, ending the ban on gay marriage will be another step toward recognizing the state's rich diversity as a positive — and affirming that equal rights for all couples benefits everyone.
From
The New Civil Rights Movement:
Fortunately for the same-sex couples in the Jacksonville area who wish to marry in Duval County, Belkis Plata, (photo right) a Jacksonville lawyer, has stepped into the breach. Beginning January 9, Ms. Plata's law firm, Plata Schott Attorneys & Counselors at Law, will marry same-sex couples at their offices, about four blocks from the courthouse, for that same $30 fee.
"They've had a difficult time for years as it is, getting their relationships acknowledged," Ms. Plata said. "Now that they've had this huge victory, now they're being shut down somewhere else. We want to help them as much as we can."
Below the fold are some tweets about couples who are getting married next Tuesday or those whose marriages will be recognized by the state of Florida then.