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The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Allison Steinberg, 212-549-2540, asteinberg@aclu.org

ACLU Responds to Governor Matt Bevin's Executive Order Removing Clerks' Names from Marriage Licenses

Governor Matt Bevin issued an executive order today removing county clerks' names from marriage licenses.

William Sharp, Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, had this comment:

LOUISVILLE

Governor Matt Bevin issued an executive order today removing county clerks' names from marriage licenses.

William Sharp, Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, had this comment:

"Governor Bevin's executive action has added to the cloud of uncertainty that hangs over marriage licensing in Kentucky. The requirement that the county clerk's name appear on marriage licenses is prescribed by Kentucky law and is not subject to unilateral change by the governor -- conceded by the previous administration in court filings. Today, however, a new administration claims to have that authority. The ACLU continues to work with loving couples who hold marriage licenses of questionable validity and for those who are waiting to legalize their unions until this is resolved. And the ACLU will continue to challenge government officials who disregard the law in favor of promoting their own personal beliefs to the detriment of the rights of others. Government officials, from the highest to the lowest, have a duty and responsibility to impartially administer the laws that exist, not the laws as they wish them to be."

The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

(212) 549-2666