KENTUCKY: Senate Panel Advances Bill To Create Separate Marriage Licenses For Same-Sex Couples

The Kentucky County Clerks Association says it wants to avoid having to ask “which is which” when they fill out the bride and groom portion of marriage licenses for same-sex couples. The Richmond Register reports:

A state Senate committee gave approval to a bill that would alter Kentucky marriage licenses to accommodate county clerks who don’t want to sign licenses for same-sex couples. The bill actually calls for two forms of the license, one which would list “bride and groom” and a second which would list “first party and second party.”

The measure is sponsored by Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris [inset], and is a product of the controversy which arose last summer when Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis spent five days in jail for refusing to issue licenses to same-sex couples following the U.S. Supreme Court decision which made same-sex marriage legal.

West told the Senate Local Government Committee Wednesday that “the clerks seem to want (the two forms). They seem to get a lot of clients and customers who prefer (the bride and groom designation).” His bill would allow couples to choose which form to use — both would include gender of both parties and neither would require the clerk’s signature.

An amendment to place both options on the same marriage license is expected to be introduced in the full state Senate.