Marriage Update

It has been several days since the US Supreme Court ruled that every state has to recognize and perform same-sex marriage. Here's the current status of that ruling. Every state (except three of them) have agreed to fully follow the Court's decision. The three states that are fighting the ruling are in the South (big surprise.) The following counties in those states are either refusing to issue any marriage licenses or are refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples:

 

Alabama: Autauga, Bibb, Blount, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Cleburne, Colbert, Covington, Crenshaw, Etowah, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lauderdale, Marengo, Pike, and Washington. Chambers, Coosa, Dale, Elmore, Marion, Sumter, Tallapoosa, and Tuscaloosa are not issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples

 

Kentucky: Casey and Rowan

 

Texas: Anderson, Austin, Bailey, Baylor, Bowie, Brown, Burleson, Calhoun, Cass, Castro, Cherokee, Cochran, Collingsworth, Coke, Coleman, Comance, Concho, Cooke, Cottle, Crane, Crockett, Dallam, Dawson, Delta, Dimmit, Fannin, Fayette, Floyd, Freestone, Gaines, Garza, Gillespie, Glassock, Goliad, Gray, Grimes, Hamilton, Hardin, Henderson, Hill, Hockley, Howard, Hutchinson, Irion, Jack, Jackson, Jasper, Jeff Davis, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kendall, Kenedy, Kent, Kerr, Kimble, King, LaSalle, Leon, Lipscomb, Live Oak, Llano, Lubbock, Marion, Mason, Matagorda, Maverick, McCullough, Medina, Mills, Moore, Ochiltree, Palo Pinto, Parker, Pecos, Rains, Randall, Real, Refugio, Roberts, Runnels, San Jacinto, San Patricio, Shelby, Sherman, Somervell, Taylor, Terrell, Terry, Throckmorton, Tyler, Van Zandt, Walker, Waller, Washington, Wharton, Wilbarger, Wise, Zapata, and Zavala

 

Four of the five US territories are also not currently issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Guam allowed gay marriage before the Supreme Court made their decision.

 

American Samoa: The residents of this US territory are American nationals and not American citizens and so the legality of the US Supreme Court's decision is not known.

 

Northern Mariana Islands: The Governor of the islands is consulting with the Attorney General on what steps needs to be done.

 

Puerto Rico:  Gay marriage licenses will come into force on July 15, 2015.

 

US Virgin Islands: Pending, but no set date.

 

 

It does surprise me that the majority of states where gay marriage wasn't legal before the Supreme Court's ruling have accepted the decision as law (since it is) and are moving forward. The same can't be said with previous Court civil rights decisions. I guess it shows that we have grown in the past 50-60 years (with the exception of those places in Alabama, Kentucky, Texas.) I heard the following comment on the news this morning: "If you do not agree with same-sex marriage then don't marry a gay person." That is a perfect answer to anyone in any state or country that doesn't give full homosexual civil rights to its residents/citizens.