Faced with having to provide same-sex marriages in this conservative county, (including Bakersfield, CA)....Kern County Auditor-Controller-County Clerk Ann Barnett is in middle of a huge controversy regarding her actions of trying to stop gay marriages tooth and nail......the uproar it has caused in this conservative county show the huge rift between values and law.....
Props to the usually Conservative Bakersfield Californian for providing the story. According the Californian, a not-too-thrilled Auditor/Clerk was faced with the dilemma of having to preform same-sex marriages.
Lois Henry, a columnist with the Californian, had a lovely exchange with the clerk. She shouldn't have to officiate gay marriages because:
Full column w/ Lois Henry of Bakersfield Californian
"It was not unanimous. There were dissenting opinions on the issue of whether the court has authority to legislate this matter."
So the lovely Clerk has been hounded by the newspaper, and according to the Bakersfield Californian Exclusive:
Kern County Auditor-Controller-County Clerk Ann Barnett repeatedly tried to avoid licensing and performing marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples, interviews and e-mails obtained by The Californian show.
and so it goes.....
At her request, County Counsel Bernard Barmann filed a brief with the California Supreme Court opposing implementation of the May 15 ruling allowing gay marriage.
That's a great way to show contempt for the law....but it continues.
She tried to resign her elected position as county clerk — while keeping her positions as auditor-controller and elections boss. "She really wanted to get rid of it," Barmann said.
So she wanted to keep the other titles, except for the part where she actually had to wed same-sex couples. Of course, she's not able to do this, and the court doesn't agree with her, so what does she do?
And finally, when the ruling came down Wednesday that she had to license same-sex marriages, she decided to stop performing all weddings. That involved canceling 25 heterosexual ceremonies that had been scheduled after June 13, according to her staff.
Basically, the office issues the paper, but stopped ALL ceromonies previously done.
Her office has gone as far as asking for legal protection from Alliance Defense Fund; a gay-marriage foe.
Let me mention, she has no legal obligation to actually preform these weddings, only provide the documents. But it burns me that a public official would use such a tactic, from PERSONAL beliefs.
The story continues and info from anyone else living in Kern County would be appreciated!