We asked our sister pub the Current for a get-me-to-the courthouse-on-time checklist and they quickly obliged:
Bexar County Clerk Gerard Rickhoff says his office will begin to grant licenses within 30 minutes of a ruling and he’ll stay open after hours if he needs to.
Both applicants will need proof of age and identity by birth certificate, license, or state-issued document. Additionally, the social security number will be required of each applicant.
The new-and-improved marriage license will cost $81 payable in cash only. The Bexar County license now will be “de-gendered,” or rather does not require those being married to identify themselves as male or female, even though the state’s application still does.
The Current also reports that while, “Traditionally, there is a 72-hour waiting period to be wed, but on the day of the decision and in the weeks to follow, the county will have judges in the building willing and ready to waive the wait.”
Read the entire post here.
SA attorney Rosie Gonzalez cautioned a little patience via Facebook:
Plaintiffs in the San Antonio case will have to request the district court to lift the stay on the preliminary-injunction decision before couples can get married–i.e., if the Supreme Court decision is favorable, plaintiffs will still need an order from the federal court here lifting the stay.
So people can’t rush to the Bexar County Clerk’s Office after the Supreme Court decision, at least not here in San Antonio (Bexar County). The Bexar County Clerk must wait for the federal district court to lift the stay before it issues marriage licenses. (So, Gerry Rickhoff, cool your political jets). And that will likely happen the same day, depending on whether the Plaintiffs’ attorneys file the motion right away–which it is anticipated they will.
Not so, says attorney Neel Lane, who represents plaintiffs Cleopatra De Leon, Nicole Dimetman and Mike Phariss and Victor Holmes in the Bexar County marriage-equality lawsuit:
Marriages will proceed even before Judge Garcia lifts the stay. Every state official takes an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution. The Bexar County Clerk has said, consistent with that duty, he will issue marriage licenses immediately upon the SCOTUS ruling, as will a few others. Lifting the stay may convince more state officials to comply. The bitter-enders may require federal lawsuits. But count on marriages to go forward tomorrow or Monday.
Speaking of bitter-enders, Attorney General Ken Paxton rattled his sabers with a press release today asking county clerks to wait for direction from his office before issuing licenses to same-sex couples. “I remain prayerful that the Court will heed millennia of family tradition, Judeo-Christian instruction and common sense and will respect the role of states,” the release began.
Lane told the Texas Tribune that clerks should not need Paxton’s appeal: “Attorney generals aren’t supposed to be in the business of praying but in the business of interpreting the law, and in this case the Supreme Court is going to be quite clear when it rules.”
However it goes down, Out In SA will be at the Courthouse, Luther’s and the Church of the Good Shepherd on Decision Day, and we look forward to seeing you there, too. Send us your photos and stories via Twitter, Instagram and Facebook: #OutInSA, @OutInSA.
