INDIANAPOLIS — County clerks in Indiana are now required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, following a federal appeals court order Tuesday allowing a ruling that found the state’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional to take effect.
The order comes a day after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear appeals from Indiana and four other states concerning their same-sex marriage bans and serves as the end to litigation that resulted in the legalization of same-sex marriage in Indiana.
The day after the Supreme Court’s decision not to review the same-sex marriage cases, the state was making tweaks to its electronic form county clerks use to process marriage licenses, and Gov. Mike Pence’s office sent state agency heads an advisory on complying with the court’s order.
Some county clerks including those in Vanderburgh and Warrick counties had already said they’d issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples beginning Monday. Other clerks told the Courier & Press they were waiting for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to issue the order or were concerned about the state’s now outdated form to apply for a marriage license. The form had asked which applicant is male and which is female.
The Indiana State Department of Health planned to update the online version of the forms beginning Tuesday evening, making changes available to county clerks by Wednesday morning, according to Amy Reel, a spokeswoman for the state agency. Additionally, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller’s office has advised clerks who use paper forms to cross out the titles of “husband” and “wife” to make the forms gender neutral, according to an advisory the office issued to clerks in all 92 Indiana counties.
In a memorandum sent by Pence’s general counsel, agency heads were told they needed to recognize same-sex marriages and heterosexual marriages equally.
“No executive branch agency may deny any state benefit or recognition otherwise available or provided to a married individual because that individual is married to a person of the same sex, whether that individual was married in Indiana or another jurisdiction,” according to the memo by Mark Ahearn.
Ahearn also advises state agency heads to take the actions necessary to follow the court’s order.
On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected appeals from Indiana, Virginia, Oklahoma, Utah and Wisconsin of lower court rulings that struck down their bans. In June, U.S. District Judge Richard Young, of Evansville, struck down the state’s same-sex marriage ban. Upon appeal, a three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Young’s ruling.
Courier & Press Staff Writer Richard Gootee contributed to this report.