AU blog: Marriage Mess: Okla. Bill Tries But Fails To Remove The State From The Wedding Business

[Panich52]

Marriage Mess: Okla. Bill Tries But Fails To Remove The State From The Wedding Business
Mar 18, 2015 by Sarah Jones in Wall of Separation

HB 1125, sponsored by State Rep. Todd Russ (R-Cordell), would require couples to have a member of the clergy or another registered officiant solemnize the wedding and issue a marriage certificate.

The Oklahoma House has passed a bill that would, critics claim, throw the current laws on civil marriage in the state into chaos. HB 1125, sponsored by State Rep. Todd Russ (R-Cordell), would require couples to have a member of the clergy or another registered officiant solemnize the wedding and issue a marriage certificate.  The bill would eliminate marriage licenses altogether.

The original version of the bill prohibited judges from issuing marriage certificates, but Russ removed that provision in a bid to increase its chances of passing. The original version also would have made it nearly impossible for atheists to get married in Oklahoma (unless they were willing to hire a member of the clergy to perform the ceremony or if they filed separately for a “common law” marriage).

According to a local blog, OklahomaWatch, the bill expands current provisions that allow individuals to be ordained online and perform marriages. That’s not a problem; many states allow that now. But the bill does not change the law’s requirement for people ordained in this way to register with county officials, so it’s hard to see how this gets the state out of marriage. The bill also permits officials from “other assembles” to legalize unions. That provision isn’t problematic either, but the bill provides little clarification on what these “other assemblies” may be. 

Confused? So are legislators, but Russ isn’t backing down.

More:
https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/marriage-mess-okla-bill-tries-but-fails-to-remove-the-state-from-the