Submitted by Anne H. Oman
Reporter-at-Large
January 6, 2014 4:53 p.m.
Early Tuesday morning, two Georgia men became the first same-sex couple to apply for a marriage license in Nassau County, according to a post in the NC Independent. Scott Singleterry, 22, and Dustyn Batten, 23, of Waycross, Georgia, applied at the Nassau County Courthouse in Yulee, and plan to marry in the Jacksonville area in February.
Later on Tuesday, two women appeared at the Historic Downtown Courthouse and became the first lesbian couple to apply for a marriage license in Fernandina Beach.
January 6 was Day One on which all Florida County Clerks are required to issue marriage licenses.
The quiet process of filing a license application at the Nassau County Courthouse in Yulee marked the denouement of a protracted legal struggle that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 2008, Florida amended the state constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman, effectively banning same-sex marriage. In January 2014, Equality Florida, a gay advocacy group, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, joined by six same-sex couples, filed a suit challenging the ban. In July 2014, Circuit Court Judge Sarah Zabel ruled Florida’s ban unconstitutional. This and other judicial decisions invalidating the ban were appealed by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
In August 2014, Federal Judge Robert Hinkle ruled against Bondi, but put a stay in place to expire January 5, 2015. Attorney General Bondi asked the U.S. Supreme Court to delay the effect of the ruling, and that request was denied on December 16. But the Florida Association of Clerks and Comptrollers (FACC), on advice of its counsel, held that Judge Hinkle’s ruling applied only to the clerk named in the ruling, the Clerk of Washington County. Nassau County Clerk John Crawford said his office, following the lead of the FACC, would not issue licenses to same-sex couples. However, Judge Hinkle, on January 1, clarified his ruling by saying it applies to all county clerks, and Mr. Crawford said that he would comply with the ruling.
Florida law specifies a three-day waiting period between the license application and the marriage ceremony. The waiting period is waived if one of more of the parties is not a Florida resident or if the couple has completed a recognized marriage preparation course. The website Equality Florida (www.eqfl.org) lists course providers willing to work with same-sex couples, including one provider in Jacksonville.
Nassau County Clerk John Crawford has stated that same-sex couples may be married in the wedding chapel at the courthouse. The Equality Florida website includes a county by county list of people eligible and willing to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies.
Will same-sex marriage boost tourism on Amelia Island?
Gil Langley of the Amelia Island Convention and Visitors Bureau isn’t sure.
“We have no idea what the overall impact on tourism will be,” he said. “We have updated our website to provide current information on marriage licenses and civil ceremonies in Nassau County. That is the extent of our efforts to this point.”
But, he added, “the destination weddings business is very important to Amelia Island, and we expect to see some additional business.”
I am Dustyn Batten and would like a copy of this…. what should I do
The Observer is an online newspaper. Just print it out. You might also want to print out the story in the NC Independent. Congratulations!