Box Turtle Bulletin

Tuesday – A Big Day for Weddings in California

The LA Times reports

Just over 2,700 marriage licenses were issued in the state between 5:01 p.m. on Monday — when the state Supreme Court’s ruling lifted the ban on gay marriage — and the end of business on Tuesday. The statewide average for a whole week in June is about 2,460.

They also have a cool interactive map of where marriage licenses were issued.

CA’s First Married Same-Sex Couple: Del Martin’s Inspiring Essay from 1956

The first same-sex couple to be married in San Francisco were Del Martin (left, 87) and Phyllis Lyon (right, 83). They have been together since 1952. As I said earlier, Del and Phyllis were the perfect choice for this historic first.

In 1955, Del and Phylis, along with six other women, founded the Daughters of Bilitis, the first major lesbian organization in the United States. Del was the group’s president, and Phyllis edited the DOB’s newsletter The Ladder beginning the following year.

I’ve been able to obtain a facsimile copy of the very first edition of The Ladder, from October, 1956. This mimeographed newsletter includes an essay by Del Martin in which she explains why they founded the Daughters of Bilitis. It was a very prescient essay, and it provides us with a great perspective on the historic changes that these two women helped to create. Today, we all are privileged to enjoy many of the fruits from Del and Phyllis’ hard work.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Since 1950 there has been a nationwide movement to bring understanding to and about the homosexual minority.

Most of the organizations dedicated to this purpose stem from the Mattachine Foundation which was founded in Los Angeles at that time. Members of those organizations — the Mattachine Society, One, and National Association for Sexual Research — are predominantly male, although there are a few hard working women among their ranks.

The Daughters of Bilitis is a women’s organization resolved to add the feminine voice and viewpoint to a mutual problem. While women may not have as much difficulty with law enforcement, their problems are none the less real — family, sometimes children, employment, social acceptance.

However, the lesbian is a very elusive creature. She burrows underground in her fear of identification. She is cautious in her associations. Current modes in hair style and casual attire have enabled her to camouflage her existence. She claims she does not need help. And she will not risk her tight little fist of security to aid those who do.

But surely the ground work has been well laid in the past 5½ years. Homosexuality is not the dirty word it used to be. More and more people, professional and lay, are becoming aware of its meaning and implications. There is no longer so much “risk” in becoming associated with [text missing].

And why not “belong”? Many heterosexuals do. Membership is open to anyone who is interested in the minority problems of the sexual variant and does not necessarily indicate one’s own sex preference.

Women have taken a beating through the centuries. It has been only in this 20th, through the courageous crusade of the Suffragettes and the influx of women into the business world, that woman has become an independent entity, an individual with the right to vote and the right to a job and economic security. But it took women with foresight and determination to attain this heritage which is now ours.

And what will be the lot of the future lesbian? Fear? Scorn? This need not be — IF lethargy is supplanted by an energized constructive program, if cowardice gives way to the solidarity of a cooperative front, if the “let Georgia do it” attitude is replaced by the realization of individual responsibility in thwarting the evils of ignorance, superstition, prejudice and bigotry.

Nothing was ever accomplished by hiding in a dark corner. Why not discard the hermitage for the heritage that awaits any red-blooded American woman who dares to claim it?

Del Martin, President
Daughters of Bilitis

A Bad Day for Anti-Gays

Not only did same-sex marriage begin in abundance across the state of California, the “last ditch efforts” of the opponents to marriage equality were tossed out on their ear.

Attempts by conservative opponents to halt same-sex marriage before the November election failed Tuesday afternoon when both the state appeals court and a Sacramento trial judge refused to block local officials from issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Patrick Marlette refused to grant a temporary restraining order sought on technical grounds by five supervisors from Yuba, Stanislaus, Nevada and Sutter counties.

Earlier Tuesday, a state appeals court also refused to block the same-sex weddings until after voters consider a constitutional amendment in November that would again limit marriage to a man and a woman.

No surprises there.

LaBarbera Award: This Guy

We’ve never given the LaBarbera Award to an un-named person before, but we don’t know the name of this particular anti-gay protester in front of San Francisco City Hall yesterday. All we have is this photo, and this lovely example of a “Christian” witness.

“God killed him for loving fags!!”

According to Storm Bear (yes, that’s his name) at the Bilerico Project, a marriage supporter was playing a guitar when he “suddenly dropped like a tree” of an apparent heart attack or cardiac arrest. Police immediately swooped in and began administering CPR.

And while that was going on, one of the “loving” Christian protesters was chanting, “Satan Got You!” and “What is the Devil whispering in your ear about now?”

Storm Bear takes it from there

I yelled at the guy, “If you are such a Christian, why aren’t you praying for the guy dying on the concrete?” The protester replied, “God killed him for loving fags!!” The cops even stepped in and told the guy to shut his mouth.

I have no idea what the ultimate fate of the guitar player is. I have high hopes he will live to sing another day.

We are still waiting to hear whether the guitar player is okay. We hope and pray that he is. (Update: We have learned that the man did suffer a cardiac arrest and he is in guarded condition at St. Mary’s hospital.)

I have no idea whether this anonymous “Christian” (and I’m using quotes here deliberately to distinguish this “gentleman” from real Christians) is a fan of Peter LaBarbera’s or vice versa. But we do know that LaBarbera is a huge proponent of confrontational forms of “witnessing,” and he’s accused this web site of “anti-Christian bigotry” when we call him on it.  But we’ve challenged him to find a single post anywhere in which, even by the stretch of his wild imagination, we’ve engaged in the practice. Unsurprisingly, he hasn’t taken us up on the challenge.

And I think there’s a reason for that. We well understand that the confrontational, emotional, hyperventilating, panic-inducing style of “witnessing” that people like LaBarbera and this anonymous “loving Christian” perform is deeply embarrassing to millions of truly loving Christians the world over. This is why these extremists remain on the lunatic fringe. They see their failed efforts being eclipsed by the forward march of reason and sanity.

We recognize that those who think this sort of “witnessing” is constructive are not a reflection of Christianity. It’s only reflective of its lunatic fringe. It’s not anti-Christian bigotry or Christian bashing to say that. In fact, we can’t even come close to bashing Christians as badly as those who hijack the faith to serve their own perverted brand of self-described “love.”

Update: We have a name. It’s Kevin Farrer.

[Hat tip for the name: Scott H.]

Some Cool County Clerks

We’ve told you about the counties where the Clerks were ungracious about facilitating the marriages of gay couples. Here’s a few that are happy for us.

Sonoma County (NY Times)

Janice Atkinson, the Sonoma County clerk, said her office was planning to stay open late for the rest of the month to accommodate what she expected would be a heavy load of same-sex weddings. On Sunday, Ms. Atkinson and staff members attended a gay pride celebration in Sonoma to hand out applications for marriage licenses to prospective newlyweds.

“We’re expecting some very happy couples,” she said. “And a lot of media.”

Shasta County (Record-Searchlight)

With the change, security concerns have surfaced. After speaking with her office’s employees, as well as the two men to be wed first, Shasta County Clerk Cathy Darling’s arranged to have plainclothes officers patrol the clerk’s office area.

“As a department head, it’s my responsibility to make sure my staff feel secure and comfortable coming to work, and I think we’re there. We have what we need,” she said.

In addition, “I don’t want to put those people who come in to get a legally provided service at risk,” Darling said.

I grew up in this rural conservative county.

Alameda County (Contra-Costa Times)

Chief Clerk-Recorder for Alameda County Kevin Hing likened today’s crush of ceremonies to a typical Valentine’s Day. Ususally on a V-Day, the clerk’s office sees a good 75 to 80 licenses and weddings. And as on a V-Day, workers in the clerk’s office have set up a little “reception” area with paper plates on a table with a silver cloth in the hallway outside the wedding rooms. They have little cupcakes and brownies ready to go for the couples after they wed.

To these and all the other county clerks that are sharing joy this week, I give my thanks.

Weather Report

It’s 5:01 here in California, same-sex marriage is legal, and the sky hasn’t fallen. The sun is shining and there are no tornadoes on the horizon.

The Most Effective Campaign

The Fresno Bee ran a human interest story about a local florist who plans on marrying his partner of 16 years. Such stories are filling newspapers throughout the state this weekend. But there is one small part of the story that I must share with you.

Renee DeMusiak, 52, the florist shop employee, grew up with the idea that marriage meant only a man and a woman.

“I just always went by the Bible. Mom is mom and dad is dad. I was never really for gays getting married,” she says.

But in November, she plans to vote against the ban and for same-sex marriage.

She had only worked at Chase Flower Shop for two months when her dog got sick and needed expensive medical care.

“Michael gave me his credit card and told me to take care of her,” she says. “I’d never vote against him.”

She says her own search for a mate has been the stuff of blues songs: cheating men, hurt, and true love never arriving.

“I’m struggling to find someone. I see gay couples come in here all the time who have had better luck than me. It’s so important to have someone love you for who and what you truly are,” she says.

“I know religion is really going to come down on this one, but I just don’t think I can be opposed any more. I vote for people to be happy.”

By far the most effective campaign for equality is to live openly with dignity and kindness.

Barnett Breaks Her Media Silence – Stupidly, of Course

No one wants the opening paragraph of an article in the local media to be

Though County Clerk Ann Barnett has refused numerous interviews by ABC23 and other local media on a recent decision to end civil ceremonies, she has granted an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

I don’t think that ongoing local coverage of Barnett is going to be kind.

Not that the LA Times was fawning.

Barnett initially said her decision to stop the weddings was based on budget constraints and a lack of staff. On Thursday, she said her primary concern was office security because the county’s two wedding chapels are inside the elections division, which Barnett also supervises.

“It’s not roped off or anything, so people could wander into restricted areas,” she said.

But her critics say the facts contradict her explanations.

Her handlers at the Alliance Defense Fund should never have let her speak.

See also:
Kern Co. Supervisors Reject Anti-Gay Ordinance
Calaveras County Joins Kern and Butte
Barnett Breaks Her Media Silence – Stupidly, of Course
Chad Vegas – Kern Co. School Board Trustee’s Double Standard
Ann Barnett Annoys Local Bakersfield Media
Two More California Counties Stop Officiating at Weddings
CA Anti-Gays Either Completely Idiotic or Shameless Liars
No Non-Religious Marriages in Kern County
A Voice of Reason in Kern Co.
Kern Co. (Bakersfield) Clerk Ann K. Barnett Cancels Straight Weddings
More Bakersfield Bigotry
Bakersfield – Not a Place to Plan Your Wedding

Chad Vegas – Kern Co. School Board Trustee’s Double Standard

Chad Vegas is the pastor of Sovereign Grace Church in Bakersfield. He is also a trustee on the board of the Kern High School District.

Two things happened recently that caught Vegas’ attention. One, the County Clerk stopping all civil marriages, you know about. The other is a little local snafu.

It seems at the local highschool, “the outgoing president of the school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes, came up with the idea of giving a Bible to any graduating senior who wanted one. Permission was asked for and received, money raised and Bibles bought.” (the Bakersfield Californian) But a confusion arose and an assistant superintendant ordered that the give-away be stopped.

The official since realized his error and apologized.

“It was not my intent to prohibit or stop the distribution of bibles or to violate anyone’s freedom of expression. My concern was only that the setup for the distribution appeared to be during a school-sponsored activity and not in a common area.”

The kids were denied their rights and appropriate steps are being reviewed to determine the proper action at this time. But that isn’t good enough for Chad Vegas.

The board member [Vegas] said he intends to meet with Superintendent Don Carter next week and will ask the board to publicly apologize to the FCA and agree to train faculty and staff on “free speech and religious rights of students and faculty.”

“I am highly offended that one of our superintendents would violate the U.S. Constitution for personal reasons,” Vegas said. “This kind of behavior is unacceptable.”

Well, I think I’d have to agree with that…

But then there’s the situation with civil marriages.

The Kern Democrats have posted on their site a copy of the June 10th email that Vegas sent out to all the County Supervisors:

Dear County Supervisor,

I am writing to make you aware of my ardent support for Ann Barnett. Please support her. Further, please know that I will work vigorously to remove from office any supervisor that does not support her in this difficult time. There is no more important political issue to the evangelical church. As we face one of the most important constitutional issues in the history of this great Republic, I want to make it clear that nothing short of complete opposition to homosexual marriage will be tolerated! As you consider your options, I remind you of the Apostle Peter in Acts 4 who asked, “should we obey man or God?” The choice is clear! Please don’t hide behind your oath on an issue this important. Your oath was to uphold the constitution, not to uphold every stupid law or judicial decision that comes around. At times, civil disobedience is the only way to keep your oath.

Thanks, Chad Vegas

Sooooo…. Mr. Vegas, I guess you believe in constitutional rights of students with Bibles, but not the constitutional rights of gays with marriage licenses. Keep the laws that allow Bible distribution, break the laws that allow same-sex couples to marry.

I never thought I’d begin to feel sorry for the residents of Kern County.

See also:
Kern Co. Supervisors Reject Anti-Gay Ordinance
Calaveras County Joins Kern and Butte
Barnett Breaks Her Media Silence – Stupidly, of Course
Chad Vegas – Kern Co. School Board Trustee’s Double Standard
Ann Barnett Annoys Local Bakersfield Media
Two More California Counties Stop Officiating at Weddings
CA Anti-Gays Either Completely Idiotic or Shameless Liars
No Non-Religious Marriages in Kern County
A Voice of Reason in Kern Co.
Kern Co. (Bakersfield) Clerk Ann K. Barnett Cancels Straight Weddings
More Bakersfield Bigotry
Bakersfield – Not a Place to Plan Your Wedding

(hat tip Good As You)

San Diego Journalist Whines About Marriage

San Diego Union-Tribune journalist, Craig Gustafson, just can’t understand why the San Diego County Clerk isn’t joining Ann Barnett in her anti-gay parade. You can almost hear the whine in his voice.

San Diego County, known for decades as a bastion of conservatism, is proceeding with gay marriage ceremonies Tuesday even though officials don’t necessarily have to.

Why, there’ve been 220 complaints!!! And the Clerk is a Republican!!! And the County voted by 63% in 2000 to ban gay marriage!!!

But County Clerk Greg Smith isn’t willing to cut off all marriage to spite gay couples.

Many urge the county to avoid gay nuptials in a similar fashion to Butte and Kern – at least until voters weigh in on a constitutional amendment in November that would ban gay marriage.

Smith, a Republican, has no such plans.

“Absolutely not,” he said.

Someone should punish him. How about “the supervisors – who do control Smith’s budget”?

Charles LiMandri, a Rancho Santa Fe attorney and general counsel to the National Organization for Marriage, said the supervisors should be courageous enough to speak out. LiMandri said they should be trumpeting the people’s will as displayed in Proposition 22.

“I’m disappointed that our leaders aren’t doing their jobs,” he said.

But the Board of Supervisors – all of whom are Republicans!! – aren’t willing to punish him. Why, if they aren’t going to be homophobes, what are they there for?!?

Previously, the San Diego County supervisors have been willing to take stands on social issues.

Sigh. The Supervisors weren’t even willing to scream their opposition to gay marriage. Only one made the obligatory “Personally, I believe that marriage is best defined as being between a man and woman” comment, and the others won’t comment at all. (Their email addresses are included in a sidebox so the outrage can pour in).

Poor Gustufson, it sucks to be anti-gay in San Diego.

Ann Barnett Annoys Local Bakersfield Media

Anti-gay Kern County Clerk Ann K. Barnett is making no friends in Bakersfield. She’s royally annoyed the local Channel 29 Eyewitness News by denying them the ability to videotape where they had in the past and then calling the police on them. And she’s infuriating the local County Counsel by stubbornly refusing to follow his legal advice and to cooperate with media.

She’s refering everyone to the Alliance Defense Fund.

There’s no question that Barnett is anti-gay. But she’s also just not very bright. Every time she opens her mouth the local news shows that she’s lying. Check out the articles and the two video Eyewitness News reports.

See also:
Kern Co. Supervisors Reject Anti-Gay Ordinance
Calaveras County Joins Kern and Butte
Barnett Breaks Her Media Silence – Stupidly, of Course
Chad Vegas – Kern Co. School Board Trustee’s Double Standard
Ann Barnett Annoys Local Bakersfield Media
Two More California Counties Stop Officiating at Weddings
CA Anti-Gays Either Completely Idiotic or Shameless Liars
No Non-Religious Marriages in Kern County
A Voice of Reason in Kern Co.
Kern Co. (Bakersfield) Clerk Ann K. Barnett Cancels Straight Weddings
More Bakersfield Bigotry
Bakersfield – Not a Place to Plan Your Wedding

Randy Thomasson Takes his Wackiness to Court

Judges must shudder when they see the Campaign for Children and Families heading their way. Their filings are much more about public display and appeal to donors than they are about the law.

Consider the most recent bit of nonsense.

The Campaign for Children and Families is asking the San Francisco-based 1st District Court of Appeal to block county clerks from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, arguing that the Legislature needs time to change various laws regulating marriages in California.

Say what?

Well here’s the logic of CCF’s Randy Thomasson: because the Supreme Court directed the District Court of Appeal to administer the ruling, then they can just ignore the Supreme Court’s effective date and decide on their own to hold everyone up until they get around to it some time in the distant future.

Ummm. Nope.

The 1st District is bound by Supreme Court precedent, but Randy Thomasson, the campaign’s president, said the appeals court must step in and “prevent the legal chaos of same-sex marriages about to erupt in California.” Any decision from the 1st District can be appealed to the state Supreme Court.

Now Randy isn’t the brightest tool in the shed, but even he should be able to see that District courts don’t rank over Supreme courts.

Civil rights lawyers dismissed the legal move as “frivolous.”

“This is a nonevent,” said Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights. “It will have no effect.”

But Randy got his name in print again. And now some judge has to read this crap and pretend like it is a legitimate filing.

Two More California Counties Stop Officiating at Weddings

Shortly after Kern County Clerk Ann Barnett decided to block all civil weddings, two more California counties announced they would stop conducting civil weddings.

Butte County
The San Jose Mercury News reports

Butte County Clerk Candace Grubbs says the county can’t afford to continue performing wedding ceremonies. About 200 couples a year marry at the clerk’s office.

Grubbs said her decision has nothing to do with the California Supreme Court’s ruling last month legalizing gay marriage.

Although this seems suspect to me (Butte is a conservative county and voted 69% in favor of Proposition 22), Dagon (posting at Pam’s House Blend) spoke with Ms. Grubbs and believes her to be sincere.

After the Primary Election, her office found itself in a budget crunch. They had to leave positions unfilled. She had to look at all the duties of her job and see what she could NOT do and get by. Wedding ceremonies are a “may” ,not a “must do” for Clerk-Recorders. Plus, Ms. Grubbs sees herself as in competition with the private sector … not only religious folks, but also non-religious folk AND the “deputies for a day.”

In California, for a small fee through Ms. Grubbs office, ANYONE may officiate at a single wedding. They apply, get trained in how to fill out the paper work, and officiate at the one wedding. Way cool. Ms. Grubbs thinks this is so much more personal and pleasant an option than one of her staff, unknown to the couple, officiating at the nuptials.

Ms. Grubbs, then, is operating differently from Ms. Barnett who is refusing to authorize anyone to perform civil marriages.

Merced County
Merced County Auditor-Clerk Stephen Jones tried to play the Barnett game. But, like Barnett, his real intentions were revealed. The Modesto Bee:

In an interview Friday morning, Jones said his decision to stop performing weddings wasn’t made to avoid marrying same sex couples.

“This wasn’t about my beliefs on the issue,” Jones said.

Instead, he cited staffing and space shortages, saying his office no longer has the room or the people to perform marriages.

But those pesky emails revealed that Jones cherishes family values more than he does truth.

On Friday afternoon, the Sun-Star obtained an e-mail that seemed to discount Jones’ explanation that his office lacked space for marriage ceremonies.

Jones sent an e-mail Thursday morning to Dee Tatum, county chief executive officer, and the Board of Supervisors outlining his decision to stop performing weddings.

In his response, sent before Jones announced plans to stop performing marriages, Tatum wrote, “If space is a problem, then certainly we can make (room) 301 available and 310, as well as the board chambers when it is not in use.”

Tatum added, “I would suggest before you take this step to see if this is legally defensible. I place no value on whether marriages are right or wrong or should be conducted or not. We, the organization, will certainly be asked why after all these years we have taken this step.”

Although Tatum made his offer before Jones announced that he was stopping marriages, when the truth came out he suddenly discovered that his office could perform marriages after all.

Kings County
The county clerk in Kings County is relying on a technicality to try and sidestep the ruling of the state Supreme Court. (AP)

[I]n its May 15 decision the state Supreme Court also directed a midlevel appeals court that upheld the state’s one man-one woman marriage laws a year ago to issue a new order legalizing same-sex marriage, and it’s not clear when the appeals court must comply.

[T]he clerk in Kings County has indicated he does not plan to grant the new licenses, which say “Party A” and “Party B” where “bride” and “groom” used to be, until the Court of Appeals takes that step. Kings County’s legal counsel had advised the clerk to wait until the appeals court acts.

Kings County has posted a notice on its Web site saying it does “not anticipate any changes in our current marriage license procedures until such time as the lower court’s implementation rulings take effect.”

Kings County Clerk Ken Baird did not respond to a call seeking comment.

Bogus Budgetary Claims
Stephen Weir, president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials scoffs at the claims by some county clerks about their budget causing them to deny civil marriages.

Contrary to the claim from Kern County that the ceremonies are a drain on resources, Weir said they make money for county coffers. Weir also serves as clerk in Contra Costa County.

“It is a financial plus,” said Weir, whose office makes $72,000 a year solemnizing marriages at $60 a pop. “It’s something you can do fairly easily, pays its own way and is a service you are providing to your customer.”

Of course, Weir is very excited about the change in wedding licensing for a personal reason.

He and his partner, John Hemm, want to be first at the counter that day. They plan to be the first to exchange vows and kisses in the conference room Weir converted into a wedding chapel that hosts 1,200 couples a year, but that he could never use.

“I’ve waited all of this time to be able to walk into my own office and stand in line and pay what used to be $64 and now is $85 to buy a license and have a ceremony,” says Weir, who also is president of the state clerks association.

“It’s a big deal.”

See also:
Kern Co. Supervisors Reject Anti-Gay Ordinance
Calaveras County Joins Kern and Butte
Barnett Breaks Her Media Silence – Stupidly, of Course
Chad Vegas – Kern Co. School Board Trustee’s Double Standard
Ann Barnett Annoys Local Bakersfield Media
Two More California Counties Stop Officiating at Weddings
CA Anti-Gays Either Completely Idiotic or Shameless Liars
No Non-Religious Marriages in Kern County
A Voice of Reason in Kern Co.
Kern Co. (Bakersfield) Clerk Ann K. Barnett Cancels Straight Weddings
More Bakersfield Bigotry
Bakersfield – Not a Place to Plan Your Wedding

CA Anti-Gays either Completely Idiotic or Shameless Liars

Sometimes anti-gays do or say something so stupid, so plainly false, that you wonder who they think they’re fooling. Today’s example comes from the California anti-gay group Campaign for Children and Families and (where else?) Kern County.

The Bakersfield Californian reported on the County Supervisors meeting this morning. There, Randy Thomasson of the CCF presented an proposed ordinance for consideration

The ordinance states “no employee of (blank) County, and no elected or appointed official of (blank) County, may issue a marriage license to any couple other than a statutorily qualified man and woman.”

There Thomasson made the rather bizarre claim that the County Supervisors could override the decision of the State Supreme Court.

Randy Thomasson of Campaign for Children and Families said the county can pass the ordinance and stop all marriage licenses.

He said issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples violates the state constitution because the Supreme Court had no power to redefine marriage in ruling on Proposition 22 last month.

“Can you actually protect marriage in your county? Can you pass the ordinance? Yes, you can,” Thomasson said.

Really, Randy? The Supervisors can “protect marriage” in their county? Are you out of your mind or are you so dedicated to your campaign of bigotry that you are willing to say anything at all – no matter how obviously insane – to advance your agenda? Do you retain even the smallest smidgen of integrity?

Not being drooling vegetables, the Supervisors were not much impressed.

Enacting an ordinance that goes against the constitution and the decision of the California Supreme Court “doesn’t seem to withstand scrutiny” said Supervisor Jon McQuiston.

The Supervisors referred the issue to County Counsel and requested a report back on July 8 on whether such an ordinance would be legal. But in the spirit of saving time and trees, let me help with that inquiry.

No. It wouldn’t.

Next really stupid question?

UPDATE

Here’s a link to Thomasson’s proposed ordinance.

14. The Board of Supervisors specifically finds that marriage only for a man and a woman is the law of the land and the foundation of family and society in Kern County.

Hey, Randy, if your legal prowess didn’t impress the California Supreme Court, the Governor, or the legislature, why not try it on the Kern County Board of Supervisors. If they don’t bite, you might try the local grammar school debating club. Perhaps they can “specifically find” some laws your way.

See also:
Kern Co. Supervisors Reject Anti-Gay Ordinance
Calaveras County Joins Kern and Butte
Barnett Breaks Her Media Silence – Stupidly, of Course
Chad Vegas – Kern Co. School Board Trustee’s Double Standard
Ann Barnett Annoys Local Bakersfield Media
Two More California Counties Stop Officiating at Weddings
CA Anti-Gays Either Completely Idiotic or Shameless Liars
No Non-Religious Marriages in Kern County
A Voice of Reason in Kern Co.
Kern Co. (Bakersfield) Clerk Ann K. Barnett Cancels Straight Weddings
More Bakersfield Bigotry
Bakersfield – Not a Place to Plan Your Wedding

No Non-Religious Marriages in Kern County

We’ve been following the story of Kern County Clerk Ann Barnett and her decision to stop the county from providing the courtesy of civil marriages. The Bakersfield Californian now reveals that Barnett may well have stopped all civil marriages from being conducted in the county.

In county government, only Barnett has the power to perform civil marriages — or deputize others to do the ceremonies — and she has already decided to cut all marriages short at the end of this week.

And her office is refusing to deputize the public as well.

The only other civil [marriage] option for both gay and straight couples could be Kern County’s judges. It remained unclear Monday whether judges can or will do the ceremonies.

Barnett cannot stop same-sex marriages from being conducted and legally recognized in Kern County. But she can ensure that all marriages are conducted by persons whose authority is granted by reason of religious ordination.

Supervisor Don Maben has a personal reason why that is not acceptable.

Maben, whose Catholic father married his Protestant mother in a civil ceremony because their faiths didn’t match up, said the issue isn’t gay marriage.

It’s about the county’s commitment to serve all its citizens.

Barnett’s spiteful action is unlikely to have much impact on same-sex couples who are seeking to wed. And as the Rev. Bryd Tetzlaff of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Kern County has promised officiate same-sex weddings free of charge, they will not incur any additional costs.

But Barnett has hurt those opposite-sex couples who do not have the extra few hundred dollars available or those who, like Maben’s parents, have religious reasons for seeking a civil ceremony.

And I have little doubt that Barnett has opened Kern County to litigation from atheists or other persons who will question whether the County has the right to deny recognition of marriages that are not affiliated with religion.

The LA Times also has an article that discusses how Bakersfield came to be the eighth most conservative city in the country.

See also:
Kern Co. Supervisors Reject Anti-Gay Ordinance
Calaveras County Joins Kern and Butte
Barnett Breaks Her Media Silence – Stupidly, of Course
Chad Vegas – Kern Co. School Board Trustee’s Double Standard
Ann Barnett Annoys Local Bakersfield Media
Two More California Counties Stop Officiating at Weddings
CA Anti-Gays Either Completely Idiotic or Shameless Liars
No Non-Religious Marriages in Kern County
A Voice of Reason in Kern Co.
Kern Co. (Bakersfield) Clerk Ann K. Barnett Cancels Straight Weddings
More Bakersfield Bigotry
Bakersfield – Not a Place to Plan Your Wedding