In an attempt to prove it can be the most contemptuous state, marriages performed in Kansas are not being recognized by the state of Kansas.
Some county clerks in Kansas are complying with a court order to allow same-sex couples to marry. But nothing in the order said the state had to recognize those marriages.
According to the Wichita Eagle, state offices are not changing their policies while the state continues its appeal. So married couples are not being allowed to change their names on their drivers licenses as heterosexual couples may. Married couples won’t be allowed to file joint tax returns the Kansas Department of Revenue said on Nov. 18.
Marriage license forms, however, have been revised to accommodate same-sex couples.
In the last session of the Kansas legislature, the House passed a bill that would have allowed public employees to refuse to serve same-sex couples on religious grounds. The bill did not pass the Senate, but the state is acting as if it had been signed into law. Should a law like this pass, the 10th Circuit has already ruled that a law based on animus is unconstitutional.
Only 19 of 105 Kansas counties are issuing marriage licenses.
