Florida clerks warned criminal charges possible for issuing same-sex marriage licenses

http://www.bradenton.com/2014/12/16/5535308/florida-clerks-warned-criminal.html

The Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers Association on Tuesday notified members throughout the state they could be “guilty of a criminal act” if they issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Making the issue of gay-marriage in Florida even murkier, the state’s court clerks association notified members Tuesday they could be “guilty of a criminal act” if they issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples if a federal judge’s hold on same-sex marriages expires Jan.5.

“Florida’s Court Clerks & Comptrollers’ duty is to act in accordance with Florida law,” the association said in a statement. “Florida Statutes are unique in regard to prohibiting the issuance of a marriage license to a couple that is not a man and a woman, in that it provides that a Clerk who violates this prohibition is guilty of a criminal act and subject to a fine and/or imprisonment.”

The statement came after the association’s legal counsel, law firm Greenberg Traurig, warned that only the clerk in North Florida’s Washington County — specifically named in the federal gay-marriage lawsuit — would be bound by a ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle of Tallahassee, who in August found the state’s gay-marriage ban unconstitutional.

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