The Scottsbluff (Nebr.) Star-Herald reports on a "problem" that same-sex marriage will bring to the Nebraska Panhandle: The courts are too busy to hold marriage ceremonies.
More below the orange taffeta.
This seems to be a pernicious new argument: the courts are simply too busy to hold marriage ceremonies, so they will (or did) get out of the practice.
I live in the Panhandle's Morrill County; I have not seen such a crime wave that the courts are swamped, and the number of same-sex marriages likely to be held here could probably be counted on one hand.
From the first two paragraphs of the article:
Most county clerks in the Panhandle will continue to issue marriage licenses after a court decision allowing same-sex marriage in the state. Many county courts, however, are no longer performing marriage ceremonies of any kind.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon struck down the state’s marriage ban as unconstitutional on Monday, March 2, but stayed the decision one week until March 9. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay of Bataillon's decision, which means the ban stays, for now.
First Christian Church in Scottsbluff issued a press release Thursday saying it would marry anyone in its church; other churches are not so open. They are citing things such as religious freedom (that is, the right to impose their wills on everyone else), an activist judge, and Nebraska's overwhelming approval of the state constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage (because nothing says smaller government like sticking your nose in someone else's private business and voting on their rights).
(My understanding of activist judge is a judge that issues rulings you don't like.)
Wikipedia has an article about Judge Bataillon, appointed by President Bill Clinton. Note how long the judge mulled the issue of Nebraska's marital ban. It is not like he just jumped out there and gave an off-the-cuff decision:
In 2003-05, Bataillon heard Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning, a federal constitutional challenge to Nebraska Initiative Measure 416, a voter initiative constitutional amendment that prohibited Nebraska from recognizing same-sex marriages or unions. In November, 2005, Bataillon ruled that Initiative Measure 416 was unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause, the First Amendment, and the Contract Clause's prohibition on bills of attainder. Bataillon became the first judge in the U.S. to invalidate a state marriage amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman on federal constitutional grounds. In July, 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed his decision on all three arguments and held that "laws limiting the state-recognized institution of marriage to heterosexual couples ... do not violate the Constitution of the United States."
After the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in United States v. Windsor declaring DOMA Section 3 unconstitutional, the law which prohibited federal recognition of state-recognize same-sex marriages, lawsuits were filed in every state that prohibited same-sex marriage. A new case concerning Nebraska's ban, Waters v. Heinemen, is also before Judge Bataillon.
So around here on the Left Side of Nebraska, it appears the go-to argument is going to be "our courts are swamped." That seems to me to be a bit harder to argue against than religious objections, but has the same effect as those objections (no marriages for you).
It also imposes on opposite-sex marriages. However, the religious tend to (but not always) get married in churches. Non-Christians are a rarity around these parts, and of course, any church can prohibit non-members from marrying. (An added bonus: those pesky atheists can't get married either.)
I'll give Banner County a pass: Banner County's entire population is 690, and its only town (and county seat, Harrisburg) is unincorporated. Banner County's court docket is handled by Scott's Bluff County. The county clerk says she will issue licenses to whomever she is directed to issue them to.
Scott's Bluff County (the most populous county in the Panhandle) cites an overwhelming workload and is no longer performing marriage ceremonies at the court. Morrill County has also stopped.
Kimball County Clerk Cathy Sibal said the county would continue issuing marriage licenses.
“If the law says you issue a license, that’s what I do,” Sibal said.
Sibal said it wasn’t her place to judge anyone.
“I took an oath to uphold the law,” she said. “I have a job to do.”
Kimball County Clerk Magistrate Michelle Woods had not heard about the decision and requested time to investigate before making a decision.
Good on you, Ms. Sibal. Upholding the law as you were elected and swore to do.
The Sioux County Clerk was reported to say she would not issue licences same-sex couples, but she says that is not accurate:
“As it stands now, I’m just watching to see what happens and exploring my options,” she said.
Your options are one: follow the law as interpreted by the courts. Refer to the Kimball County clerk's statement, Ms. Zimmerman.
Morrill County Clerk Kathy Brandt said they are issuing marriage licenses and will continue to do so.
“We will do whatever it is they tell us to do,” she said.
Thank you, Ms. Brandt. Someone else here that takes her oath seriously. You'll have my vote.
In the meantime, our county magistrate says there is too much going on in Morrill County to perform marriage ceremonies in the county court.
Bridgeport, Bayard, and Broadwater are apparently so overwhelmed by the huge crime wave sweeping our county that there is no time for civil duties. Right. That's why the most common thing the county sheriff's department does here is round up stray cattle.
I do not like this particular claim of "too much to do." That claim makes it awfully easy for any judge, magistrate, or clerk who does not want to do something to simply claim they are overwhelmed. That excuse makes even less sense than religious arguments against marriage equality. Anyone who lives here can see we have not become a crime-ridden place like Somalia; this is one of the safest areas of the country to live in.
Moreover, if such claims as "overwork" are allowed, then the various county clerks or jurists that use the excuse become in effect a one-person government.
There is a name for those: dictatorships.