La., Miss. officials drag feet on issuing same-sex licenses

Sarah Fowler and Kate Royals | The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger

Show Caption Hide Caption Same-sex couples seek licenses at Hinds courthouse Same-sex couples sought marriage licenses at the Hinds County courthouse in Jackson, Miss. Friday, June 26, 2015.

JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi's attorney general directed circuit court clerks in the state to delay granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples, an hour after the U.S. Supreme Court said gay couples have a right to marry in all 50 states.

Hinds County Circuit Clerk Barbara Dunn received email at 10:09 a.m. CT that Attorney General Jim Hood sent to all the state's county court clerks:

The Supreme Court's decision is not immediately effective in Mississippi. It will become effective in Mississippi and circuit clerks will be required to issue same-sex marriage licenses when the 5th Circuit lifts the stay of Judge Reeves' order. This could come quickly or may take several days. The 5th Circuit might also choose not to lift the stay and instead issue an order which could take considerably longer before it becomes effective.

Three couples in Hattiesburg, Miss., obtained licenses and wed before Hood sent his missive. Then Circuit Clerk Lou Ellen Adams of Forrest County put on the brakes.

After overturning Mississippi's same-sex marriage ban in a federal lawsuit filed last year, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves had issued a stay on his order overturning the ban. Reeves' stay meant his original order would not go into effect until the state's appeal of the decision was resolved.

Hood's delay echoes Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant's reaction to the federal ruling. Bryant said he was studying the state's options after contending the Supreme Court's order usurps states' rights.

In Louisiana, Attorney General James "Buddy" Caldwell said in a statement that the Supreme Court's decision had nothing requiring it to be effective immediately. Louisiana GOP Gov. Bobby Jindal, who announced Wednesday that he is running for president, also said that the issue trampled on states' rights and vowed that he would never stop fighting for religious liberty.

"There is a delay. It's usually around 20 to 25 days," said Louise Bond, Ouachita Parish clerk of court. "We've been told not to issue anything until we hear back from our counsel on that."

The foot-dragging meant that Louisiana was the only state Friday not to have issued a marriage-license to a same-sex couple.

In Alabama, where the state Supreme Court's chief justice, Roy Moore, earlier had told his state's probate judges to ignore a federal district judge's ruling allowing for same-sex marriage, larger counties were issuing the licenses to gay couples. But some smaller counties were awaiting guidance from Moore or the Alabama attorney general.

Some probate judges who saw an inevitable ruling in favor of same-sex marriage previously decided to stop issuing marriage licenses to any couple. State law doesn't require each county to issue marriage licenses.

Moore didn't return a message Friday seeking comment, and Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange conceded that the U.S. Supreme Court has the final say absent a change to the U.S. Constitution.

A Mississippi lawyer who represented the plaintiffs in that state's lawsuit agreed: The Supreme Court's ruling settles the issue.

"He has absolutely no reason to delay issuing licenses to people who are entitled to get married under the United States Constitution," Rob McDuff said about Mississippi's attorney general.

The issues Hood is citing are all technicalities, said McDuff, who will be filing a motion with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans — which hears cases from Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas — to lift the stay.

"The AG is just wrong," said constitutional law expert Matt Steffey, a professor at Mississippi College in Clinton, Miss. He called Hood's communication with circuit clerks dangerous advice.

"As soon as the Supreme Court mandate issues, then it's the law of the land," Steffey said. "If a clerk refuses to issue a license to a same-sex couple, they're subject to being sued for violation of that person's civil rights."

In Louisiana, Eos Parish and Brant Rios, together for five years, wanted to be the first in their parish to get married, but Bond told them they would have to wait.

"It's really disheartening," Rios said. "Cultures are evolving. We're not the same country we were 10 years ago. I'm glad for the (federal) ruling, and we'll see what happens in the state of Louisiana."

In Mississippi, Celeste Swain and her partner Bobbi Gray of Gulfport, Miss., were the first to arrive at the circuit clerk's office in Harrison County. After filling out some paperwork, Swain said they were called back over to the desk and told the state attorney general required a waiting period.

"We're pretty deflated," said Swain, who was still at the courthouse around noon in hopes something might change. "I'm looking at Mississippi wanting to wave the 'Hi, we're in last place' flag again.' "

After Hood's email became public, the Mississippi attorney general issued a statement saying he was not standing in the way of the Supreme Court's decision.

"We simply want to inform our citizens of the procedure that takes effect after this ruling," he said. "When the 5th Circuit lifts the stay of Judge Reeves' order, it will become effective in Mississippi and circuit clerks will be required to issue same-sex marriage licenses."

Contributing: Emily Wagster Pettus and Jack Elliott Jr., Hattiesburg (Miss.) American; Kaleb Causey, The (Monroe, La.) News-Star; Seth Dickerson, The (Lafayette, La.) Daily Advertiser; Brian Lyman, The Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser; and The Associated Press.