Clerks' gay wedding refusals downplayed

SAN FRANCISCO, June 11 (UPI) -- County clerks in California say they doubt many people will be upset by the decisions of two counties to stop performing weddings, hoping to avoid gay marriage.

Kern and Butte Counties are in relatively rural areas where conservative attitudes and small populations make it unlikely that a lot of openly homosexual couples will be looking to get hitched at the county clerks offices.

"We are not expecting that many couples, maybe 10 or 12," the Rev. Byrd Tetzlaff of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Kern County told the San Francisco Chronicle.

The respective clerks cited budget issues in their decisions, which were announced not long after the California Supreme Court struck down a state ban on same-sex marriage. But other clerks told the San Francisco Chronicle that reasoning did not make sense, especially since counties can charge a fee to recover any costs and even make a little profit.

"It's a nice service that we provide to the public, and it's not costing me anything," said Contra Costa County Clerk Steve Weir, who is also president of the California Association of Clerks and Elected Officials. "In this day and age with the budget situation, how can you go wrong providing a public service that helps with your overhead?"