INDIANAPOLIS — The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana has filed an objection to Indiana’s request for an emergency stay of a federal judge’s order striking down the state’s same-sex marriage ban.
The ACLU’s petition says “the public interest strongly weighs against the stay” sought by Attorney General Greg Zoeller, reports the Indianapolis Star.
The ACLU’s filing also claims Indiana has not met its burden in seeking the stay.
The stay sought by Zoeller would halt same-sex marriages conducted across Indiana while state officials appeal Wednesday’s decision handed down by U.S. District Judge Richard Young.
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State attorneys note in their request that stays have been granted in every other case while an appeal is being pursued.
Meanwhile, a handful of county clerks across Indiana still aren’t issuing marriage licenses to gay couples two days after Young struck down the state’s prohibition on same-sex unions.
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The Marion County clerk’s office in Indianapolis is changing that wording from “bride” and “groom” to “spouse” and “spouse” on the printed form and has issued nearly 500 marriage licenses to same-sex couples since Wednesday. Spokeswoman Angie Nussmeyer says the online section that says “male” and “female” can’t be changed.
Decatur County Clerk Janet Chadwell says she isn’t altering the form because her county attorney told her she would be committing perjury if she did.
In Daviess County, clerk Sherri Healey told one disgruntled license seeker that the U.S. “was founded on the biblical principle of one man and one woman in marriage.”
Indiana State Department of Health spokesman Ken Severson says the agency is working to change forms to comply with the court order.
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