In a move to comply with the new law in California the marriage forms removed Bride & Groom. However it didn’t settle to well with everyone. So they are putting that “option” back on instead of the Party A and Party B being the only option.
“Do you, Party A, take this Party B to be your lawfully wedded spouse …”
Nah. Never did sound right. So the state of California is now changing the way people can identify themselves on its new gender-neutral marriage licenses.
Now the bride and groom can choose to be called, well, the “bride” and “groom.”
Or, for that matter, the bride and bride. Or the groom and groom.
Since June 17, when gay marriage became legal in California as the result of a state Supreme Court ruling, two people getting hitched had only one option when filling out their marriage license form. One had to be identified as Party A. The other had to be known as Party B.
“Following the Supreme Court decision in May, we moved quickly to make that change to be consistent with the ruling,” said Suanne Buggy, spokeswoman for the California Department of Public Health, which oversees marriage licenses.
Perhaps too quickly.
Many Californians, even those who support the right of gays to marry, thought “Party A, Party B” sounded too cold, too bureaucratic.
Santa Clara County Clerk-Recorder Regina Alcomendras said Monday that she’s heard few complaints from people obtaining marriage licenses since the gender-neutral form took effect. But Alcomendras said county clerks in rural counties have received a lot more flak.
One Roseville couple refused to sign their marriage license because the form didn’t say “bride” and “groom.” And last week the couple filed a lawsuit against the Placer County clerk in Superior Court.
“We’ve been hearing from a lot of average Californians that they would like to have the bride-groom option,” Buggy said.
Or they can simply choose to be known only as “First person” and “Second person.”
In any case: No more Party A, Party B.
County clerks will begin using the newest marriage-license form on Nov. 17.
