Victoria County Clerk (Texas) seeks answers before granting licenses
Jessica Priest
Victoria County Clerk Heidi Easley's phone was ringing continuously Friday morning after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a Texas ban on same-sex marriages.
"Something tells me I'm going to get quite a few questions about that today," she said Friday morning.
Easley said she would have to turn away same-sex couples at least for the time being because Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked county clerks offices to wait.
Also, both the marriage licenses and the marriage applications are written in a way for a man and a woman to complete the information.
She wasn't sure whether she could just scratch out "Mr." or "woman" or how it would affect her offices' budget to order new marriage licenses, which come in a batch of 500 from a private company.
She'll be seeking advice from Patton
"This is unchartered territory for us, so it's going to take us some time to adapt," Easley said. "I am Catholic, but when I took office, I took an oath to uphold the laws of the county, the state and the United States."
On Thursday, Paxton said he was anticipating the ruling from the Supreme Court.
"Whatever the ruling, I would recommend that all County Clerks and Justices of the Peace wait for direction and clarity from this office about the meaning of the Court's opinion and the rights of Texans under the law.
“To be clear -- the law in the state of Texas is that marriage is one man and one woman, and the position of this office is that the United States Constitution clearly does not speak to any right to marriage other than one man and one woman and that the First Amendment clearly protects religious liberty and the right to believe in traditional marriage without facing discrimination. If the Court suggests otherwise, prudence dictates we reflect on precisely what the Court says, what it means, and how to proceed consistent with the rule of law.”
https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2015/jun/26/victoria-county-clerk-seeks-answers-granting-licen/