Lawmaker: State could stop marriage licenses altogether

Gov. Phil Bryant said Friday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage "usurps" states' long-held rights to self governance and he's studying the state's options.

"Gov. Bryant will continue to do all that he can to protect and defend the religious freedoms of Mississippi," spokeswoman Nicole Webb said.

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves decried the ruling as "overreach of the federal government" that has expanded under the Obama Administration from the executive to the judicial branches.

"For the second day in a row, the SCOTUS by a narrow margin has decided that the federal government's powers should no longer be limited to those enumerated in our Constitution," Reeves said.

House Speaker Philip Gunn said the ruling is a threat to "religious liberty," and he pledged to protect the rights of "Christian citizens."

"As Christians, we are to speak the truth in love," Gunn said. "But we are not to shy away from speaking the truth, even though the truth may be unpopular or not embraced by the culture around us. This decision is in direct conflict with God's design for marriage as set forth in the Bible. The threat of this decision to religious liberty is very clear. I pledge to protect the rights of Christian citizens to teach and operate on the basis of Christian conviction. "

State House Judiciary Chairman Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, said he's still studying the ruling, but that one option might be for Mississippi to get out of the marriage business altogether.

"One of the options that other states have looked at is removing the state marriage license requirement," Gipson said. "We will be researching what options there are. I personally can see pros and cons to that. I don't know if it would be better to have no marriage certificate sponsored by the state or not. But it's an option out there to be considered."

Oklahoma lawmakers this year considered a bill that would have had clergy and notaries sign off on marriage paperwork, taking state judges and county clerks out of the process. In Alabama, at least one county stopped issuing any marriage licenses months ago.

Gipson, an attorney and Baptist minister who opposes gay marriage, caused a stir last year when he said: "I believe the time has come for people of faith in Mississippi to prepare for the overturning of our constitutional ban on it," noting then that Friday's high court ruling was inevitable.

On Friday, Gipson said: "What the Supreme Court's decision does not and cannot change is the firmly held conviction of faith of myself and most Mississippians. We still believe that marriage is defined by God as the union of one man and one woman. As Bible-believing Christians, we will not change or alter our religious convictions to suit the whims of the court or the culture."

Jennifer Riley-Collins, director of the Mississippi ACLU, said she hopes "that Mississippi's officials will embrace everyone and will not attempt to set up barriers to this momentous decision."

"I pray that the state of Mississippi is on the right side of history this time," Riley-Collins said. "Aren't we tired of being last?"

Bryant in his statement on Friday said the court's standards are "out of step" with a majority of Mississippians.

"Throughout history, states have had the authority to regulate marriage within their borders," Bryant said. "Today, a federal court has usurped that right to self-governance and has mandated that states must comply with federal marriage standards—standards that are out of step with the wishes of many in the United States and that are certainly out of step with the majority of Mississippians."

State House Democratic Leader Bobby Moak, D-Bogue Chitto, could not be reached for comment on the high court ruling.

State Democratic Party spokeswoman Ouida Meruvia said the court has simply upheld the fundamental rights America is supposed to offer to all.

"Freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation seems to be an inherent concept to a nation founded by declaring, 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..' However, today we're reminded that equality has not been self-evident, but instead a struggle that generations of Mississippians have had to fight. And, today, these Mississippians have seen a victory. America has seen a victory. Freedom, equality, and love have seen a victory."

Republican U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo said Friday's ruling "tears at the very fabric of our democracy" by taking dominion over marriage laws from state governments.

U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker and Thad Cochran expressed concerns the ruling might result in discrimination against individuals or organizations that oppose same-sex marriage.

Wicker said he has co-sponsored the "First Amendment Defense Act" that would prevent the federal government from discriminating against "any individual or institution that defines marriage as a union of one man and one woman."

"There are people who have strong views on both sides of this issue," Wicker said, "and reasonable people can respectfully disagree."

Attorney General Jim Hood on Friday said the Supreme Court's decision will not take effect immediately in Mississippi because of a stay issued by the federal Fifth Circuit. But he said lifting the stay or issuing an order based on the high court ruling will be forthcoming soon and "circuit clerks will be required to issue same-sex marriage licenses...."