COUNTY WILL ISSUE SAME-SEX COUPLES MARRIAGE LICENSES

Sunday Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy denied a last-ditch request from the sponsors of California’s now-overturned gay marriage ban to halt the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses. The Supreme Court cleared the way for the marriages to resume for the first time in 4 ½ years, when it ruled Wednesday that Proposition 8’s backers lacked standing to defend the 2008 law once California’s governor and attorney general refused to do so. In San Bernardino County, same-sex couples may obtain a marriage license at the County Hall of Records, 222 West Hospitality Lane in San Bernardino, and at the Recorder’s Office in the High Desert Government Center, 15900 Smoke Tree Street in Hesperia. The process for same-sex couples to obtain a marriage license will be identical to the process for couples of the opposite sex. A County spokesman said, “They will fill out an application for a marriage license and they can choose to perform a civil marriage here at the Recorder’s Office or have their wedding performed at a private location of their choice. For more information about obtaining a marriage license, visit the Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk’s website at http://www.sbcounty.gov/arc/MarriageInfo.aspx.