Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer has announced he will officiate a huge same-sex wedding ceremony on January 6th - the first day gays and lesbians can wed in the state.
BUT - will the County Clerk issue the licenses?
From the Orlando Sentinel:
According to the association, the City Hall event is scheduled for 9 a.m., but Dyer's office said the timing would depend on if and when the Orange County Clerk's office grants the marriage licenses.
Couples in Florida must find a Florida clerk to grant them the licenses. Orange County Clerk Tiffany Moore Russell and others have said they won't, following the advice of a Tallahassee law firm that warned last week that they could be arrested and charged with a misdemeanor if they do.
A spokesman for Moore Russell on Monday said she was still studying the issue.
Other groups have also planned mass wedding events in the Orlando area:
• The GLBT Community Center of Central Florida will also host a same-sex wedding bash at 6 p.m. on January 6.
• Ministers from the First Unitarian Church of Orlando have offered to marry any same-sex couple for free in back-to-back ceremonies Jan. 10, starting at 1 p.m.
Meanwhile, several county clerks from across the state say they will not be issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on the 6th. Representatives from Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando counties all say they are "uncomfortable" on the issue without further guidance due to a memo from Greenberg Traurig, the law firm that represents state county clerks.
This one is going to get very sticky before we get to January 6th, kids, just watch.
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