Times wins 8th consecutive Newspaper of Year title
June 24, 2015
Our Mistake
June 24, 2015
As the hour draws closer for release of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the legality of same-sex marriages, some public officials and private business owners must prepare for how they will respond to the resolution of a thorny public policy question.
National airing of sharply polarized arguments on the issue suggests that some public officials and business owners will say “I won’t” if same-sex couples get the green to say “I do,” and come to them for the exchange of vows or nuptial-related services.
But interviews over the past week in Terrebonne and Lafourche give clear indications that if Louisiana’s ban on same-sex marriage falls by the constitutional wayside, same-sex couples will in most cases have little trouble ordering wedding cakes or finding qualified officials to marry them.
As of Monday the high court had not released a decision in Obergefell vs. Hodges, one of the cases that the justices are weighing in preparation for what will be an historic decision.
“I don’t have a problem at all,” said Terrebone Parish Ward 2 Justice of the Peace Kenny Hamner. He has been approached by two friends who want to wed and can’t legally do so. But if the Supreme Court says they can, they will, and Hamner stands ready to oblige.
“They did not want to leave to go someplace else to get married,” Hamner said, explaining why the couple is waiting for the high court’s ruling.
Key to the question of whether and when local same-sex couples wishing to marry in Louisiana, should the Supreme Court rule in favor of their desires, is when and how clerks of court will issue marriage licenses.
Terrebonne Parish Clerk of Court Theresa Robichaux says she and the clerks of other Louisiana judicial districts will await word from the Louisiana Association of Clerks of Court, and that the group will take its cue from Attorney General Buddy Caldwell.
Caldwell’s office brought in a special attorney to argue the matter before the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals last year, affirming that Louisiana’s definition of marriage as being only between one man and one woman should stand; that court’s decision has been held in limbo as those judges await the Supreme Court’s ruling. A spokesman for Caldwell said it is premature to determine what role if any the Attorney General might play if Louisiana’s law is struck down.
“We are keeping an eye on it and once a ruling is released the clerk’s association is going to rely on the advice of legal counsel and the attorney general’s office, the question being will that specific ruling over-rule the laws of the state of Louisiana,” Robichaux said. “It’s a wait-and-see thing. It’s important that each parish proceed the same way.”
Raceland’s Troy Templet, like most other local justices of the peace, agreed that he will have to follow whatever Louisiana law ends up stating, or how it is interpreted by the state’s officials.
Yogi Naquin, a long-time JP in Gray, said he has been approached by people he knows over the years asking at least for a commitment ceremony. He has had to turn them down, he said, since his oath would, in his opinion, make officiating a violation for him. But that may change depending on the Supreme Court ruling.
“If they legalize it then I will do whatever the law requires me to do,” said Naquin, who once gained notoriety by wearing sneakers under his robes for wedding ceremonies. He won’t be breaking out rainbow-colored sneakers for same-sex weddings, however. The sneaker schtick is something he said he has given up for quite a few years now.
Junior Theriot, constable for the Dularge area, said he is giving up on doing weddings altogether, though not specifically because of how the court may rule.
Health issues have caused him to cut down on his workload. Naquin said he would have difficulty solemnizing a same-sex couple’s vows because that would so strongly violate his own beliefs.
Bourg Justice of the Peace Jerome Fabre said his oath will require him to marry couples of the same gender if the high court says Louisiana’s ban is not constitutional.
But the prospect of doing so, he said, causes grave personal difficulty.
“It’s going to be a hard situation,” Fabre said. “Just doing it because a court says it’s right, and we have been living this way for hundreds of years. Because one percent of the population is saying we have to offer a different way is conflicting. But we are going to have to abide by the law. We took an oath. But, hopefully, the Supreme Court will rule according to what is morally correct.”
Local business owners and managers who cater – in some cases quite literally – to marrying couples have generally said in interviews that they are prepared to accommodate same-sex couples.
“It would be positive because that would mean more brides,” said Kristi Gros of Something Blue, a bridal shop in Houma, when asked how her business would be affected if the Supreme Court mandates a change in the law.
Julie Bonvillain of Chez Lilli in Houma said she has no problem providing gowns for pairs of brides.
“We are not here to judge,” she said. “We are here to provide a service.”
Local outfitters of brides who were interviewed said they have on occasion provided service to same-sex couples who married out-of-state but were outfitted for gowns close to home, a near-necessity because of the amount of time fitting and altering can take.
In Louisiana, a law that would have protected vendors who refused service to same-sex couples was struck down by a legislative committee. Gov. Bobby Jindal issued an executive order subsequent to that which protects state employees from reprisals related to their views on marriage.
In the local private sector, however, there is a lack of concern
Sarah Foret, who owns the Chez Cake bakery in Houma, said social controversy has no place in her kitchen.
“For us as cake bakers, [our role] it is to bake for those who will take the cake,” said Foret, who has crafted cakes since 1985. “I don’t ask any questions because it doesn’t pertain to the cake.”
The Supreme Court heard arguments in April on the question of same-sex marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. A decision is expected to be announced Monday, but could come as soon as Thursday.
Thirteen states – Louisiana included – have laws or constitutional amendments that deny same-sex couples the freedom to marry.
The Supreme Court – like the Fifth Circuit – heard arguments on two issues, whether states that bar same-sex marriages must recognize the marriages of same-sex couples who wed outside the jurisdiction, as well as the question of whether the U.S. Constitution bars states from refusing marriages to same sex couple within their borders.
Sarah Foret ices on an anniversary cake at her Chez Cake bakery on Corporate Drive in Houma, as Kelly LeBouef kneads decorations, said social controversy has no place in her kitchens. Foret says controversy has no place in her kitchen
