In the three months since the U.S. Supreme Court declared marriage a constitutionally guaranteed right of American citizens, same-sex couples have been tying the knot in cities and towns around the country, including Oxford.
Of the 61 marriage licenses issued by the circuit clerk’s office since late July, seven of those were to same sex couples. This means about 11.5 percent of marriage licenses issued in Lafayette County since July were issued to same sex couples.
Baretta Mosley, circuit court clerk for Lafayette County, said the process is fairly simple and routine. Applicants are required to present photo identification and pay a $25 fee.
“We fill out the application. Everything is on the computer now. Then we print out the application, the individuals sign it and we issue the license at that time,” Mosley said. “It’s a same day process. It takes about 15 minutes.”
The first couple to receive a marriage license after the court decision was Kurt Smith and Corey Blount.
“We walked in and (Mosley) just knew,” Blount said. “She had that grin.”
One change needed to be made to the application before the couple could proceed.
“She crossed out male applicant and female applicant, so it just said applicant and applicant,” Smith said. “It was a quick and easy process.”
For Blount and Smith, obtaining a marriage license from the state is a form of legitimacy.
“On an everyday practical level, it’s the dollars and cents. It’s the tax forms. It’s the deeds. It’s the what’s mine is his and what’s his is mine kind of thing,” Smith said. “But on a human level, its legitimacy in the eyes of the state. We are married in the same way as the couple next door is married.”
The Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision brought same-sex marriage to 13 states that had banned it at the time, including Mississippi. The office of the circuit clerk for Lafayette County handles the issuance of all marriage licenses and the accompanying application process, as well as submitting the county’s Statistical Records of Marriage to the state board of health.
“Everybody has their own religious beliefs,” Mosley said. “I have my religious beliefs, but I took an oath of office that I would uphold the law of the state and the United States and the Constitution and I swore before God that I would do that. Everybody is entitled to their rights under the law.”
