Madison County ready to issue same-sex marriage licenses
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MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. — In Madison County, whether you are for it or against it, the county clerks office said they are now ready to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. “What a great day, an unbelievable day,” Drew Baker with the Tennessee Equality Project said. For the first time in the history of the State of Tennessee, same-sex couples have the right to marry. “Around 11:30 a.m. our software vendor flipped the switch,” Madison County Clerk Fred Birmingham said. “They changed the format to comply with the Tennessee vital records.” Moving from ‘bride and groom’ to ‘applicant one and two’. Equality activists said that little change is a huge step forward. “Marriage equality is the law of the land, it’s recognized in all 50 states now,” Baker said. “They’ll be a few bumps in the road but we’ll get where we want to go rather quickly.” Governor Bill Haslam released a statement on the supreme court’s decision Friday saying, “We will comply with the decision and will ensure that our departments are able to do so as quickly as possible.” “There are 95 counties in the state, that’s a lot of different political agendas and a lot of stuff going on,” Baker said. “It’s going to take some wrangling to heard all those cats in the right direction.” Although it may take some time, Madison County Clerk Fred Birmingham said they are working together to make the transition as easy as seamless as possible. “Each county clerk interprets state laws a little bit uniquely, how they want to run their office,” Birmingham said. “We are constitutional officers so we try and network well.” Although no applications have been handed in just yet, Birmingham said they are ready to obey the new law. “It doesn’t matter what my personal belief is, I’m not here to judge anyone.” Birmingham said. “I’m just going to do what I’m required to do by the U.S. constitution and the constitution of the State of Tennessee.”
