County will take gay marriage applications in July

Published 2:02 pm Saturday, June 8, 2013

Though some Minnesota counties began accepting marriage licenses for same-sex couples on Thursday, Freeborn County will not do so until July 29, according to Freeborn County Recorder Kelly Callahan.

Callahan said the county’s software system issues marriage licenses that are effective five days after applications are submitted, thus they would not be able to start issuing the licenses until closer to the Aug. 1 effective date.

He said he hasn’t received any inquiries about the applications.

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Callahan’s statements come after Hennepin County in downtown Minneapolis began taking applications early.

Minnesota is the first Midwestern state to legalize gay marriage by legislative vote, and the third nationwide in recent weeks.

The vote came in May a little more than six months after voters defeated an amendment that would have banned gay marriage in the state constitution.

Callahan said instead of purchasing new applications for same-sex marriages, the county plans to do away with the the terms “Bride” and “Groom” manually and say either “Applicant” and “Co-applicant” or “Spouse 1” and “Spouse 2.”