When a couple inquired about getting a same-sex marriage license on Friday, June 26, at the St. Charles Parish Clerk of Courts Office, it was history in the making.
It was the same day the U.S. Supreme Court released its 5-to-4 ruling that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage.
By the following Monday, the local couple applied for and received a marriage license – the first one issued in the parish’s history and this application asked to indicate “bride – spouse” or “groom – spouse” instead of the traditional “bride – groom” description.
Parish Clerk of Court Lance Marino said he could not release the couple’s names, but he said the license was issued “totally without incident and no protest whatsoever.”The license entitles the couple to be married by anyone with a license to perform marriages, which includes a judge, justice of the peace or minister.
It was a long-sought win in the gay rights movement, but one that didn’t come easily in Louisiana as the last state in the nation that held out on issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples until the Supreme Court June 29 ruling.
Gov. Bobby Jindal, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, said Louisiana would comply with the decision.
But Jindal argued, “This decision will pave the way for an all out assault against the religious freedom rights of Christians who disagree with this decision.”
Louisiana voters overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the state constitution banning same-sex marriages in 2004. Some 42 percent of Louisiana residents support same-sex marriage, according to this year’s Louisiana State University poll, lagging behind the national average of 57 percent.
In a June 26 press release, state Attorney General Buddy Caldwell expressed disappointment over the ruling, stating he found nothing in the decision that made it effective immediately.
Jefferson Parish Clerk of Court John Geggenheimer disagreed.By the following Monday, Geggenheimer’s office issued a marriage license to two men, Michael Robinson, 41, and Earl Benjamin, 39. They were married in New Orleans, in neighboring Orleans Parish, and are believed to be the first same-sex couple married in Louisiana, according to media reports. The two have been together for 14 years.
On the same day in St. Charles Parish, Marino issued the parish’s first same-sex marriage license, a number that has since grown to five at last count.
The local couple’s quick response to seeking a marriage license came as no surprise to Marino.
“I assumed there would be some couples anxious to be married once it was legal,” he said. “The office issues marriage licenses to anyone requesting them who provides all legally required information.”
Marino said the Louisiana Clerks of Court Association offered some guidance, initially advising clerks of court to wait 24 days after the ruling in case it was challenged, but many clerks began issuing the licenses when it became evident that wasn’t going to happen on the state or federal level.
Soon after, he said the association advised the clerks to “ … do what we feel is best for our constituents and upholding our oaths.”
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