Nothing says Happy Valentine's Day like getting your very own marriage licenses—ya know, just a little different from the ones other people get. It's like customized marriage licenses for same-sex couples. That must be the spirit behind Kentucky lawmakers' latest bill.
One marriage license form would note the "bride" and "groom" and the other form would note "first party" and "second party." Bill sponsor Republican Sen. Stephen West of Paris said couples, both gay and straight, could use either form.
The bill also removes the name of the county clerk who issued the license and would require couples to note their gender, no matter what form they chose, for the benefit of historians and genealogists who use marriage license records for research purposes.
And guess what? West reportedly made sure to get some sage advice from none other than Kim Davis—of Rowan County Clerk fame!—on just what taxpayer-funded Kentucky clerks would like to see in their marriage licenses. Better her than, say, another state lawmaker with an otherwise totally reasonable idea.
One solution, offered by Democratic state Sen. Morgan McGarvey of Louisville, was to have one form with a box next to a person's name to check "bride," ''groom" or "spouse."
"You can avoid confusion and avoid the potential for any disparate treatment of groups," he said.
Leslie County Clerk James Lewis, vice president of the Kentucky County Clerk's Association, said he has no problem with McGarvey's idea. West said he would consider amending the bill.
What—one form? And ruin all that disparate treatment! That might really infringe on Kim Davis’s religious liberties.