Lee Rood

lrood@dmreg.com

Michael Miller Gribble brought with him all he thought was needed to obtain a new driver's license in a suburb near Austin, Texas: a birth certificate and his marriage license from Iowa.

But because Texas does not recognize same-sex marriage, Miller Gribble was turned away and told he had two options: pay to obtain a court-ordered name change or get a divorce.

"I started shaking, it had me so upset," said Miller Gribble, who moved in September from Iowa to Leander, Texas. "I thought, 'This is outright discrimination.' "

Next month, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to hear oral arguments in a case that could decide whether Texas' longtime same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional.

And last month, a federal appeals court ruling made it even more likely the U.S. Supreme Court will weigh in soon on several other state bans.

Miller Gribble, 48, wants an answer to a question that has become more urgent as 35 states have come to allow same-sex unions: Does a state that bans gay marriage have an obligation to recognize one performed legally in another?

Since same-sex marriage became legal in Iowa in 2009, onetime residents who have moved have found it difficult or impossible to obtain new driver's licenses using a same-sex marriage license.

Similar run-ins have been reported in Nebraska, South Dakota, Florida and other states where gay-marriage bans remain in place.

What's going on in lower courts

Last year, the Supreme Court ruled the federal government must recognize legally conducted same-sex marriages.

Several U.S. District Court judges and U.S. appeals courts have thrown out state bans on same-sex marriage. But last month, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. The lawyers challenging those bans have said they will appeal, setting up the possible review soon by the Supreme Court.

Miller Gribble says he contacted Lambda Legal and Equality Texas — legal groups that have done considerable legal work on the topic of same-sex marriage. But he said they hesitated to act in his defense right now because legislation may be forthcoming next year in the Texas Legislature.

He says he wants someone to take on the problem now. He believes the treatment he received at the driver's license station in Pflugerville, Texas, amounted to state-sanctioned bullying as well as discrimination.

He said the woman he dealt with was rude and treated him poorly. He added: "Every single government document I own, minus my birth certificate, has my new legal name on it. … But none of these legal documents are acceptable for me to get my driver's license here. They don't deny heterosexuals marriage certificates as proof of name changes."

ACLU interested in fight; no timeline

On the Texas Department of Public Safety's website, people who have had name changes are told to bring either a certified marriage license, divorce decree or court order showing the change. But the site reads: "Because the state of Texas does not recognize same-sex marriage, DPS cannot accept same-sex marriage licenses."

The ACLU – which has led a charge nationally to overturn bans on gay marriage – has argued publicly that such rules turn homosexuals into second-class citizens.

Mike Barber, a lawyer for the ACLU in South Dakota, which has received similar complaints, called the license issue troubling.

"Nationwide, it's something the ACLU is interested in combating," he said. "But whether we will be tackling that soon, I have no idea."

Last week in Florida, a same-sex couple decided to sue the state's motor vehicle agency for violating their rights to due process, equal protection and free speech over the driver's license issue. But in Texas, the problem has not been litigated.

Miller Gribble's main question is whether Texas' practice of rejecting Iowa same-sex marriage licenses is constitutional — but experts tell me it's unlikely he will get a final answer outside the courts.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Ann Estin, a University of Iowa law professor, says when the Supreme Court overturned part of the Defense of Marriage Act last summer, it left intact a provision that prevented states from having to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.

Still, the high court has never addressed whether the Full Faith and Credit Clause in the U.S. Constitution, which requires states to recognize and enforce other states' laws, should apply to same-sex marriages, she said.

In Texas, federal Judge Orlando Garcia wrote in a ruling last February that triggered the Texas court of appeals case: "State-imposed inequality can find no refuges in our U.S. Constitution." But Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, also the state's governor-elect, is a staunch supporter of the state's ban on gay marriage and wrote passionately against it in his brief with the 5th District Court of Appeals.

One can imagine the strange realities that will occur if states with same-sex marriage bans continue to reject more and more marriages in other states. Essentially, a person would be divorced or single just by crossing state lines.

Comparison with interracial marriage battle

Last week, Miller Gribble said he believes he found a way around the state's denial of his license – by applying for a federal passport card that will reflect his new name. But he was angry he had to pay an extra $55 to go that route.

"Until this happened, I never knew being gay will cost you more."

Estin said no part of the federal constitution says gays and lesbians have to be treated the same as straight people, even though that's the law in Iowa and other states. But the Constitution does require equal protection and due process.

Compared with the big legal battles over interracial marriage, which lasted from 1948 to 1967, courts have been weighing in fairly swiftly on same-sex marriage.

"I'm not saying people should be patient," she said. "But it's actually been a pretty impressive social transformation."

Lee Rood's Reader's Watchdog column helps Iowans get answers and accountability from public officials, the justice system, businesses and nonprofits. Contact her at lrood@dmreg.com, 515-284-8549 on Twitter @leerood or at Facebook.com/readerswatchdog.