Same-Sex Couples Can Get Married in Tom Green County Now

Marriage has been an option since yesterday for same-sex couples in the county. The Supreme Court ruling allowing same-sex marriage across the nation occurred Friday; however, the county could not offer marriage licenses until the revised application for a license arrived.

The license has yet to be completely corrected, but marriage licenses and applications have been available to same-sex couples at the county clerk’s offices since Monday.

“We’re trying to make [the license] to where it looks good with no alterations or anything,” county clerk Elizabeth McGill said. “But we’re compliant.”

The license currently incorporates the prefixes Mr. and M. with each followed by a blank. However, the license is being modified to that it reads M and M. According to McGill, a worker in the county clerk’s office was busy editing the license Tuesday. McGill claimed that the edit will hopefully be finished by the end of the day Tuesday.

McGill explained that Texas offers informal marriages to couples that live together. If same-sex couples applying for an informal marriage have lived together prior to this law, Texas acknowledges the date the couple started living together as spouses as the date the Supreme Court’s ruling came into effect. See the Tom Green County website for more information regarding informal marriages and other marriage license requirements.

“We were also told that some counties yesterday had applications for divorce from same-sex couples, which they’ve never been allowed because the marriage wasn’t recognized,” McGill said. “So, since the marriage is now recognized, now they qualify for divorce.”

McGill acknowledged that many same-sex couples are having difficulty finding a pastor or justice of the peace to perform the marriage ceremony. Names were not mentioned, but one such justice of the peace that refuses to preform further marriages of any kind is Judge Eddie Howard, JP for Pct. 4.

“[The same-sex couples] are going to just have to call around and find somebody,” McGill said. “There are people that will do it. It’s up to them to call and make do.”

According to McGill, no same-sex couples in have claimed an application in Tom Green County for a marriage license yet.

“We’ve had several calls, but no one has been in,” McGill said. “Lots of questions, but no applications.”