Melissa Ross
A controversial courthouse decision in Northeast Florida was held up to national ridicule Tuesday night by The Daily Show‘s Jon Stewart.
Duval County Clerk of Court Ronnie Fussell (along with his counterparts in Clay and Baker counties) closed the courthouse chapel in downtown Jacksonville to ALL couples, after same-sex marriage became legal last week in Florida. Fussell explained the move to dismantle the wedding arbor by saying he and his staff did not feel comfortable marrying same-sex couples.
Joked Stewart, “These people didn’t choose to be county clerks. They were born that way.”
Jacksonville LGBT civil rights lawyer Carrington Mead, who led a mass same-sex wedding ceremony in Hemming Plaza in the wake of the landmark ruling, had at first threatened to sue Fussell over the matter.
Now, though, Mead says cooler heads may prevail, as prominent members of the Jacksonville legal community continue to privately lobby Fussell on the issue.
‘There’s a current effort being made behind closed doors to help Mr. Fussell evolve on this subject,” she said.
For his part, Fussell says he’s working with Chief Judge Mark Mahon on a solution to the impasse, but has refused public comment on any pending litigation.
Says Mead, “We hope he has a change of heart. We’re talking in our LGBT community right now about where OUR hearts are with this. But if it doesn’t get resolved, I’ll be reviewing case law to look at a complaint alleging discrimination against taxpaying citizens of this community.”
