FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 6, 2014

CONTACT: Angi Stalnaker

(334) 224 - 3482

CLARKE COUNTY PROBATE OFFICE WILL NO LONGER ISSUE MARRIAGE LICENSES OR PERFORM
MARRIAGE CEREMONIES
CLARKE Effective immediately, the Clarke County Probate Office will no longer issue marriage licenses
or perform marriage ceremonies.
Judge Valerie Davis explained that in accordance with Alabama Code 1975, 30-1-9, Probate Judges are
not mandated to issue marriage licenses but have discretion to issue marriage licenses. Just like the
Alabama Code 1975, 30-1-7, gives Probate Judges the discretion to perform wedding ceremonies.
The decision will not affect the right of anyone to obtain a license for marriage in
Alabama. Clarke County residents who are seeking marriage licenses can do so at any Probate Judges
office in the state that offers that service. The law does not require that a marriage license be bought in
the county of residency.
Davis said that recent court decisions which seem to redefine what is marriage had an effect on her
decision.
I do not think I am required to compromise my religious beliefs to be Probate Judge. Alabama law does
not mandate me to issue marriage licenses to anyone of any gender, Davis said.
My Christian beliefs were made known to the voters of Clarke County as I campaigned for the honor to
serve as Probate Judge in 2012. I believe that marriage was ordained by God to unite man and woman
as husband and wife. To compel me to act on some other definition of marriage goes against Gods
word. This decision gives me the freedom to obey God and follow my Christian beliefs while operating in
accordance with the law, said Davis.
Davis added, The U.S. Congress itself has required, since 1993, that the federal government not
substantially burden a persons exercise of religion. I dont understand any court decisions of the
federal government to have commanded the probate office resources to require it to be in the marriage
license business. In my lifetime, no one has understood the statutes providing authority to issue a
license for marriage to refer to anything but a solemn agreement between a man and a woman. I have
seen nothing that indicates to me that these laws, which were adopted decades ago and even before my
lifetime, refer to any other type of agreement.
In 2006, 85 of Clarke Countians and more than 80% of Alabamians voted in favor of an Amendment to
the State Constitution that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
The United States Supreme Court is expected to rule by early summer on whether state officials can use
the power to issue marriage licenses only for a man and a woman.
-###FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 6, 2014

CONTACT: Angi Stalnaker

(334) 224 - 3482

CLARKE COUNTY PROBATE OFFICE WILL NO LONGER ISSUE MARRIAGE LICENSES OR PERFORM
MARRIAGE CEREMONIES
CLARKE Effective immediately, the Clarke County Probate Office will no longer issue marriage licenses
or perform marriage ceremonies.
Judge Valerie Davis explained that in accordance with Alabama Code 1975, 30-1-9, Probate Judges are
not mandated to issue marriage licenses but have discretion to issue marriage licenses. Just like the
Alabama Code 1975, 30-1-7, gives Probate Judges the discretion to perform wedding ceremonies.
The decision will not affect the right of anyone to obtain a license for marriage in
Alabama. Clarke County residents who are seeking marriage licenses can do so at any Probate Judges
office in the state that offers that service. The law does not require that a marriage license be bought in
the county of residency.
Davis said that recent court decisions which seem to redefine what is marriage had an effect on her
decision.
I do not think I am required to compromise my religious beliefs to be Probate Judge. Alabama law does
not mandate me to issue marriage licenses to anyone of any gender, Davis said.
My Christian beliefs were made known to the voters of Clarke County as I campaigned for the honor to
serve as Probate Judge in 2012. I believe that marriage was ordained by God to unite man and woman
as husband and wife. To compel me to act on some other definition of marriage goes against Gods
word. This decision gives me the freedom to obey God and follow my Christian beliefs while operating in
accordance with the law, said Davis.
Davis added, The U.S. Congress itself has required, since 1993, that the federal government not
substantially burden a persons exercise of religion. I dont understand any court decisions of the
federal government to have commanded the probate office resources to require it to be in the marriage
license business. In my lifetime, no one has understood the statutes providing authority to issue a
license for marriage to refer to anything but a solemn agreement between a man and a woman. I have
seen nothing that indicates to me that these laws, which were adopted decades ago and even before my
lifetime, refer to any other type of agreement.
In 2006, 85 of Clarke Countians and more than 80% of Alabamians voted in favor of an Amendment to
the State Constitution that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
The United States Supreme Court is expected to rule by early summer on whether state officials can use
the power to issue marriage licenses only for a man and a woman.
-###-