Faulkner County Clerk Melinda Reynolds
While same-sex couples flocked to courthouses this weekend to tie the knot, a county clerk in Arkansas is refusing to issue any marriage licenses to gay couples.
Faulkner County Clerk Melinda Reynolds issued a statement through her office Sunday evening that it would wait to hand out marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The news comes after Friday’s ruling by Circuit Judge Christopher Piazza that struck down Arkansas’ ban on same-sex marriage.
Piazza didn’t stay his ruling pending appeal, so the ruling took effect with couples marrying Saturday. State Attorney General Dustin McDaniel’s office plans to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.
In the Faulkner County statement about why the office wouldn’t issue licenses, Reynolds explained that state Supreme Court and not a circuit judge must strike down a state law.
