Couple forced to prove New Mexico is a state while applying for marriage license

Gavin Clarkson was stopped in his tracks when applying for a marriage license after the clerk refused to take his driver’s license from New Mexico as proof of identification. Clarkson, who once ran for New Mexico secretary of state, said the District of Columbia clerk thought he was a foreign citizen. He was told he would have to provide an international passport to get the marriage license. "You know you are from flyover country when you are applying for a marriage license, give them your New Mexico driver's license, and they come back and say: 'My supervisor says we cannot accept international driver's licenses. Do you have a New Mexico passport?'" Clarkson wrote on Facebook.Even after speaking with a supervisor, Clarkson was told he still needed to get a passport to apply. "Apparently it would have been easier if I'd shown her my tribal ID," he said.Eventually, around 20 minutes later, the clerk finally realized the error and apologized, according to USA Today. Clarkson said he and his wife look back on the moment with humor despite the fact it was annoying at the time. "Everything else went fine, but it was a comical moment in the whole process," he said.The two were married in a ceremony held in Washington not long after.

Gavin Clarkson was stopped in his tracks when applying for a marriage license after the clerk refused to take his driver’s license from New Mexico as proof of identification.

Clarkson, who once ran for New Mexico secretary of state, said the District of Columbia clerk thought he was a foreign citizen. He was told he would have to provide an international passport to get the marriage license.


"You know you are from flyover country when you are applying for a marriage license, give them your New Mexico driver's license, and they come back and say: 'My supervisor says we cannot accept international driver's licenses. Do you have a New Mexico passport?'" Clarkson wrote on Facebook.

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Even after speaking with a supervisor, Clarkson was told he still needed to get a passport to apply.

"Apparently it would have been easier if I'd shown her my tribal ID," he said.

Eventually, around 20 minutes later, the clerk finally realized the error and apologized, according to USA Today.

Clarkson said he and his wife look back on the moment with humor despite the fact it was annoying at the time.

"Everything else went fine, but it was a comical moment in the whole process," he said.

The two were married in a ceremony held in Washington not long after.