No Marriages of Any Kind Will be Officiated by Guernsey County Officials

Public officials in Guernsey County won’t be officiating marriages of any kind in the near future.

The Columbus Dispatch reported that not one of the three judges in the county are willing to perform any marriages, gay or straight, all citing different reasons. Cambridge resident, Levi Wade, and his partner have been together for three years and wish to get married in their hometown, by a local official.

“It’s been more frustration than anything else, and it’s kind of disappointing because a civil service is something that we wanted, we didn’t’ want offend any religious group in the county, we wanted to steer clear of all of that because we both want to respect their beliefs and don’t want to intrude on that, and now every which way we turn the doors are getting slammed in our face,” Wade said.

In the wake of the new Supreme Court ruling, all judges reason’s given for not performing marriages are unrelated. Wade said after being denied by the common pleas, municipal, and probate courts, he decided to turn to the mayor. He said he was told the mayor performs marriages, but when he called back to finalize, he was denied once again.

“People are not happy with the decisions the county officials here are making, and the general consensus at least online and through personal messages that I’ve gotten is that this is wildly unfair,” Wade said. “I’ve also received well over a dozen offers by other folks from as far as Texas to marry us, but that’s not the point, the point is that we should be able to get that here.”

Wade hopes by shining light on this issue will help the officials step-up and do what’s right. He said in a statement,

“I was born and raised here, and taught that you have to stand up for what’s right, even if it’s scary, and even if you’re the only one standing. So, here we are. My partner and I wanted a civil ceremony to do our best to try and respect the religious folks in the area. They should be in support of this option. We didn’t want to impose on ANY church and want to respect their beliefs. A state or civil wedding is the alternative to a marriage by clergy. We have had many offers since this started, and they are all wonderful, and we are grateful for every single one. However, that is not the point. The actions of officials here have created a “civil marriage dead zone”, and that is unfair to EVERYONE in the community. There are 40,000 people here.

There should be no religious argument or objection from any of the judges. The concept is simple. When you took the oath of office, you became an arm of the state. When you put on that robe, you ARE the state, and the state has no religion. They don’t get to opt out of cases, or any of the other things that the government does on a daily basis that doesn’t mesh perfectly with a number of different religions. Divorce, liquor licenses, taxes, and banks being able to legally charge interest fall in this category. All of these things are frowned upon by religion, but the government does it anyway. Civil marriages are no different.

The Probate office website states that they issue about 200 marriage licenses per year. That’s about one per day. I’m sure we are not the first to be denied. We are only the first to point out that the door to civil marriage in this county has been slammed shut.

My own parents were married by the Mayor of Cambridge in 1976. We had hoped to get the same thing using the thought that if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for us. Unfortunately, that door has also been slammed shut. In those days, the Mayor made house calls, and they were married right in the living room.

Too busy, bothersome, and “conflict of interest” seem to be a thin veil to hide fear of political backlash from some religious folks who are very vocal and seem to wield more sway than they should on a judge. I’m confident the judges could consult with other counties who have resolved this issue successfully to avoid these “conflicts”. Marriage licenses are good for 60 days, and it seems implausible, that between 3 judges they cannot find 15 minutes to marry a couple. As far as the probate judge not having done one and relying on the actions of a predecessor to justify his position, I don’t think that is a fair or brave position to take. The judge claiming no jurisdiction is a curious case as well. We have photographs of him performing a wedding in the Cambridge Firehouse on 12/13/14. That’s only 7 months ago. I am not asking for it to be free, scheduled on the same day, or to have a ceremony any different than they have done in the past. I am only asking that one, or all three be brave enough to step up and walk the path that the Supreme court DARED to trod, and do for ALL the citizens of Guernsey county what, up until recently was not available through any means to some folks, and open a door to everyone that should have never been shut.

The supreme court has spoken, the attorney general, the governor, the Ohio supreme court all have said that equality is the law of the land. It’s unfortunate that these elected officials, who should represent and protect everyone equally under the law, are choosing to harm everyone in the county in order to keep some Ohioans as second class citizens.

This is not a same-sex marriage issue, it’s a Marriage issue. This option has been available for a VERY long time, and now, suddenly, within the last year, it’s not available anymore due what I believe is fear, and lack of resolve by a few.”