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

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.”