Gay 'I-do's' in state halt after 4 days

High court notes law bars clerks from issuing licenses

Randy Eddy-McCain officiates a wedding Wednesday for Lauren Zavelli and Mary Sorrels in the Pulaski County Courthouse rotunda in Little Rock.
Randy Eddy-McCain officiates a wedding Wednesday for Lauren Zavelli and Mary Sorrels in the Pulaski County Courthouse rotunda in Little Rock.

Gay couples lost access to marriage licenses in Arkansas late Wednesday after the state Supreme Court noted that state law still prevents county clerks from issuing them to same-sex couples.

Officials in Pulaski and Washington counties announced late Wednesday that they will issue no more licenses to same-sex couples until they receive further instructions from their attorneys or the courts.

Also Wednesday, the Arkansas Supreme Court denied the state's request to freeze a lower court's order that struck down Arkansas' ban on same-sex marriages and dismissed the appeal, saying Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza had not yet completed his job.

Piazza's ruling Friday did not address a law that prohibits county clerks from issuing the licenses to same-sex couples, the justices said. Piazza's decision also did not address rulings on all of the issues raised in the lawsuit that was filed by 20 same-sex couples, so the high court said it was premature for justices to hear the appeal.

Arkansas Code Annotated 9-11-208 prohibits county clerks from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Unlawfully issuing a marriage license is a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of between $100 and $500.

Piazza struck down Amendment 83 and another law -- Act 144 of 1997 -- that forbids same-sex marriage, but omitted any mention of the statute that prohibits the issuance of licenses.

The high court's ruling cast doubt on the validity of the gay marriages that took place in Arkansas this week, officials said. Hundreds of licenses have been issued to homosexual couples in several counties.

Chris Villines, executive director of the Association of Arkansas Counties, said county officials aren't sure how to proceed.

"We're in uncharted territory," he said. "It'll be interesting to see how it evolves over time."

Arkansas was the only Southern state in which some counties were issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples this week. People from across the state and from surrounding states rushed to Little Rock in Pulaski County and Fayetteville in Washington County to get them. Many couples said they feared that if they didn't hurry and get their licenses, they would miss their chance to marry.

The attorney general's office asked Piazza to stay his ruling Friday, the day he issued his decision, but Piazza did not immediately grant one. On Monday, attorneys for the state asked the high court to block Piazza's order.

Jack Wagoner, an attorney for the same-sex couples in the lawsuit, argued that staying the ruling would undermine his clients' constitutional rights.

Wagoner said in an interview that Piazza was clear in his ruling, even if he didn't name the specific statute.

"I believe the intent of the ruling applied to that statute as well," Wagoner said of the issuing of marriage licenses.

Wagoner said he hoped to file paperwork in Piazza's court today asking for a clarification.

Aaron Sadler, a spokesman for Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, said in a statement that the county clerks have been uncertain about their responsibilities, and couples have been uncertain about whether their marriages "will remain valid."

"A stay issued by either the Supreme Court or Judge Piazza would have brought some certainty. Unfortunately, today's decision did not do that," Sadler said. "Instead, we will move forward handling our responsibility to defend the Constitution and appeal the judge's decision at the appropriate time."

Earlier in the day, the attorney general's office responded to Wagoner's request to dismiss the appeal of Piazza's ruling. Wagoner had written in filings with the court Tuesday that Piazza had not addressed all of the issues raised in the lawsuit, so the appeal to the high court was premature.

Assistant Attorney General Colin Jorgensen wrote that the state agreed that there was a "bevy of unanswered questions that have arisen from the circuit court's order" and that the state had pursued a stay from the Supreme Court because Piazza had declined to issue one.

In another legal filing, the attorney general had noted that the U.S. Supreme Court recently granted a stay in a similar case out of Utah.

Kenneth Gallant, a professor at the University of Arkansas W.H. Bowen School of Law in Little Rock, said the court's opinion Wednesday raised the question of whether the county clerks could legally issue same-sex licenses.

"The way I read that is it says that the prohibition of 9-11-208(b) is still on the books, and what it doesn't say, but I would imagine the court means, is that it binds the clerks," Gallant said.

Gallant said it was likely that the high court would rule on the constitutionality of the same-sex marriage ban before addressing a legal challenge over the validity of the licenses that have already been issued.

Pulaski County Clerk Larry Crane said late Wednesday that county officials, including legal counsel, will meet before 8 a.m. today to discuss the court's ruling and what happens next.

"We will obviously abide by the law, and we will not be issuing licenses at 8 o'clock in the morning," Crane said. "These issues are always difficult to get worked through the process."

The case will return to Piazza's court, Crane noted.

"You know, Judge Piazza was unequivocal in his belief that the prohibition was a denial of equal protection and due process in the Arkansas and the U.S. Constitution," Crane said. "It would seem very reasonable that the other statute would fall under that same line of reasoning."

Washington County also has stopped issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

"We are going to suspend issuing the marriage licenses until we can not only talk to the county clerks association but also to other county clerks to see how they're going to proceed," said Washington County Clerk Becky Lewallen. "Everything is so unclear and vague. We have to wait until something is figured out."

Lewallen said County Attorney George Butler advised her to issue marriage licenses Monday to same-sex couples, and he advised her Wednesday night to stop, based on the Supreme Court's order.

"It's just a matter of figuring all this out," said Lewallen. "It's all new."

Lewallen said Washington County has issued 138 marriage licenses to same-sex couples this week -- 84 on Monday, 38 on Tuesday and 16 on Wednesday.

"I think there will be some backlash tomorrow because we're going to stop issuing them," she said.

But, she noted that the number of same-sex applicants has dropped by more than 50 percent each day, so it would appear that most gay couples in the area who wanted marriage licenses have already gotten them.

Attorneys say the fight isn't over.

Cheryl Maples, an attorney for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said she hoped county clerks would resume issuing the licenses. She added that she was unsure what the Supreme Court's opinion means for the marriage licenses already issued to same-sex couples.

She said she's confident that Piazza will recognize the marriages.

Piazza has "made it very clear that these laws are unconstitutional," she said.

"He just accidentally left one out," Maples said. "He can very easily take care of that and very easily address the other issues ... that were raised in the motion. The Supreme Court sent it back to him for further findings, and I'm sure he'll -- well -- run with it."

On Wednesday, the Pulaski County clerk's office had fewer same-sex couples trickle in than in the previous two days.

By the end of the day, the office had issued 50 licenses -- 40 to same-sex couples. On Monday, the county issued 164 licenses to same-sex couples and another 79 on Tuesday.

About 9:30 a.m., Lauren Zavelli, 29, and Mary Sorrels, 31, waited for family members in the Pulaski County Courthouse rotunda, as officiants urged them to go ahead and apply for a marriage license before the state's highest court could take any action.

The West Memphis couple had made plans to travel to Little Rock after hearing about Piazza's ruling, Zavelli said. They left West Memphis on Tuesday night and stayed overnight in the capital city to "try and get this done," she said.

Sorrels' sister and a friend met the couple at the clerk's counter, then Sorrels left the area carrying a Macy's dress bag. She returned minutes later decked out in a white gown, white heels and a pearl necklace.

Marriage license in hand, Sorrels and Zavelli strode to the rotunda to get married.

As the officiant performed the ceremony, Sorrels' father, Charles, arrived and used his phone to snap photographs of the newlyweds. The two, who have been together for a decade, hugged each other as they turned in their signed marriage license to the clerks.

"It's just wonderful," Charles Sorrels said after the wedding. "[Lauren] was already part of the family."

For Destiny and Lori Burden, their wait was finally over Wednesday.

The Jacksonville couple, together for nearly a year, waited for the "hustle and bustle" to subside earlier in the week, but went to the Pulaski County Courthouse on Wednesday to say their vows.

Destiny, 22, slowly ran her fingers across Lori's hand as the officiant proclaimed them spouses, and they sealed the ceremony with a kiss.

The two proposed to each other on Valentine's Day and went to Eureka Springs in March to sign the city's domestic partnership registry.

"I really wanted to make it official," Destiny said. Before this week, the most official option for the couple was the domestic partnership registry. "They can't take away what we've already got."

The couple planned to celebrate quietly Wednesday night. They plan to have a formal wedding ceremony later and to eventually have children, they said.

"We've rushed enough as it is," Lori, 34, said.

Pulaski County officials say they've never had a week with so many marriages.

Last week, Pulaski County clerks issued 76 marriage licenses. From opening time Monday to close time Wednesday, the office issued 313 licenses -- 90 percent of them to same-sex couples.

The number of issued licenses Monday broke the county's one-day record of 57 on Valentine's Day this year, officials said.

The first 15 same-sex marriage licenses in Arkansas history were issued Saturday in Carroll County, the only clerk's office in the state that's open on Saturdays.

On Monday around 11 a.m., Tony Rogers, the prosecuting attorney in Carroll County, advised County Clerk Jamie Correia to stop issuing licenses to same-sex couples. That office had issued a total of 28 licenses over Saturday and Monday.

After hearing about the Supreme Court ruling Wednesday, Rogers said, he felt better about his decision to stop issuing licenses. "It's been a crazy week."

In Saline County, six marriage licenses were given to gay couples Monday.

One marriage license was issued to a same-sex couple in Marion County on Monday before that clerk's office decided to stop issuing them, said County Clerk Dee Carleton.

Two Fort Smith women were the first same-sex couple in Arkansas to received a marriage license. They got theirs Saturday at the Carroll County Courthouse in Eureka Springs.

Kristin Seaton, 27, and Jennifer Rambo, 27, spent the night in their car to be first in line Saturday.

"I didn't realize how many anti-gay marriage laws there were in Arkansas," Seaton said via text message late Wednesday. "While I'm sad to learn all 75 counties have stopped issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, I'm proud that more than 400 licenses were issued since Friday's historic ruling. That goes to show how powerful love and commitment is among all people. Jennifer and I did not enter our union lightly but rather after deep thought and devotion. We plan on spending the rest of our lives together, and that fact was recognized by our marriage on Saturday."

"I'm not sure if the law will affect licenses already issued. Since over 400 were issued, I would think it wouldn't, but the law is tricky, and I'm not a lawyer. I just hope and pray it won't have any effect!"

A section on 05/15/2014

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