Jackley: Up To Counties To Issue Gay Marriage Licenses
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A U.S. Supreme Court opinion that declared same-sex marriage legal nationwide is effective in South Dakota immediately and it’s up to each county in the state to begin issuing marriage licenses, the state attorney general said Friday.
Attorney General Marty Jackley said counties can begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as soon as they are able, but acknowledged issues like the size of a county and the number applications could delay the process.
“We are saying it’s effective immediately but with that recognition that we will work with local jurisdictions to provide a reasonable period of time to implement a fairly significant rule and change in law,” Jackley said.
Officials in Minnehaha, Pennington, Codington and Brown counties said they were all waiting for direction Friday from the Department of Health, which oversees vital records like marriage certificates. Department officials did not immediately return requests for comment about advising county officials.
Gay people in South Dakota were elated Friday following the news.
Bob Weldland, an art education coordinator in Sioux Falls who is gay, said he got a second marriage proposal from his partner Friday alerting him of the decision. The two held a wedding ceremony in 2010 in Minnesota, but are still not legally married.
“He texted me, ‘So, do you want to marry me again?'” he said.
Weldland and his partner plan to renew their vows among friends and family this August for the fifth anniversary and get married by “government standards.”
Josh Newville, the attorney for six same-sex couples in South Dakota who have challenged the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, was ecstatic.
“As a lawyer for them, I can’t tell you how happy that I know they are,” he said. “But as a gay man, who went into the practice of law specifically because of this issue, I’m overwhelmed,” he said.
The lawsuit filed by Newville in South Dakota is on hold at the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. Newville said he didn’t anticipate any delay from the 8th Circuit judges affirming that gay marriage should be legal in the state. He said he would ask the 8th Circuit on Friday to issue a ruling on his case.
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Associated Press writers Regina Garcia Cano and James Nord contributed to this report from Sioux Falls.
