This is a very Merry Christmas day. I'm waiting for family to arrive so I have a little time to reflect upon all that has transpired this past week in the great state of Utah.
First there is the wonderful editorial from The Salt Lake Tribune earlier this week. They pretty much capture the extent of "chaos" in the mind of the governor (emphasis mine):
The governor later said the decision caused "a chaotic situation in our state that requires an expedited judicial resolution." What that really means is he didn’t like the expedited resolution Shelby gave him, so he’s calling it chaos. Scenes from the clerk’s office Friday showed joyful pandemonium, but it was hardly chaos.
"Danger, Will Robinson. Emergency. Emergency. Stop the gays."
In a news article, the Tribune notes (again, bolding mine):
Though the attorney general’s office wasn’t specifically advising county clerks on Christmas Eve, spokesman Ryan Bruckman pointed out that U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby "has put out his ruling that anyone who denies a marriage license [could be] in contempt of the court and in contempt of the law."
Despite Shelby’s ruling, Utah County — the state’s second largest — continued to turn down same-sex couples. Utah County Clerk Bryan Thompson issued a statement Tuesday, reiterating that he is seeking clarification from the state and the Utah County attorney’s office.
"Until I receive further information, the Utah County clerk’s office will not be making any policy changes in regards to which we issue marriage licenses," according to Thompson’s statement.
So it seems the "chaos" in Utah County is simply whether Thompson follows the law or is found in contempt of court. Sheesh, that is really, really chaotic.
But moving back to the governor and his "chaos" we see that even he is NOT finding things so chaotic.
According to another Tribune news story updated yesterday we have the biggie from the governor's office itself buried on page 2 (again, bolding mine):
According to an email from Gov. Gary Herbert’s office to his cabinet Tuesday afternoon, most state agencies are seeing "minimal or no impact" as a result of same-sex marriages taking place.
MINIMAL OR NO IMPACT? Golly Gee Wedding Bells, Batman. Has the governor just shot his own argument iin the foot? Not CHAOS, but "minimal or no impact.?"
But, but, BUT... The governor is worried about state income tax returns. Now THAT is really, really chaotic... whether a couple can check the "married filing jointly" box on their return. Wow. That is chaos. So much so that it required notifying software vendors months ago. Imagine the programming involved. Sheesh.
Again from the Tribune on Monday:
Documents obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune through an open-records law request show that the commission announced its decision in October — instead of waiting any later — because it was getting "pressure from software vendors" to have a policy in place quickly to allow final preparation of their products.
Roberts said Monday that the current position of the tax commission not to allow joint filing by same-sex couples stands until and unless the commission changes it.
The policy announcement in October came without any formal vote or public debate by the four-member commission.
It was somewhat surprising because Commission Chairman Bruce Johnson told The Tribune in late August that absent any specific legislation, he felt Utah would likely follow the IRS policy on same-sex couples. That’s because the state tax system piggybacks on the federal one.
Wow again. Such CHAOS. Does Utah follow the law or follow "policy announcements" from a commission. This one must have the governor spinning in circles as he walks.
Nothing below the spaghetti plate yet. We shall see if any updates happen.
Have a joyous day all.