Denton, Collin Counties To Issue First Same-Sex Marriage Licenses
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DENTON COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) - For the first time since Friday's historic Supreme Court decision that legally allows gay couples to marry in Texas and all over the country, Denton and county issued a same-sex marriage license on Monday morning. Collin County has been ready to do so since 8 am, although as of early afternoon, no couple had applied for a license.
Last Friday, Denton County said it couldn't handle the applications due to an issue with a software vendor.
The county clerk said they wanted to make sure that issuing the license was done correctly.
Since then, the county has modified its marriage license application to accommodate same sex couples.
A supervisor at the clerk's office says there is still a 72-hour waiting period after the license is granted before a wedding can occur. A justice could waive the waiting period, but the supervisor told CBS 11's Joel Thomas that she was not aware of an instance where that had happened.
The previous day, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a statement saying that county clerks did not have to issue a marriage license to a gay couple if it went against their religious beliefs.
The following Texas counties are still not issuing same sex couples marriage licences. Here is a list and the reasons given when CBS 11 called the county clerk's offices:
Parker County: No reason given.
Erath County: Software issues. Also, still waiting for guidance and a "determination had not been made."
Hill County: Software issues. Plan to issue licenses once updates are received from its vendor.
Hood County: Maintained Texas law indicates marriage is between a man and a woman and the US Constitution does not say anything about marriage.
Jack County: Computer programming not completed yet and the clerk is on vacation until next week.
Johnson County: Sent an updated application to their vendor. Plan on doing it when everything is up to date.
Kaufman County: Have been instructed to wait for clarification from the Texas Attorney General
Palo Pinto: They are in the process of changing their paperwork which includes picture of a man and a woman getting married by a preacher. The application and paperwork are being updated and once it's changed licenses will be issued.
Van Zandt County: Office will be issuing same-sex marriage licenses once software is upgraded.
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