Post Bulletin political reporter Heather Carlson posts an update on marriage equality in Olmsted County expected to start accepting same-sex marriage license applications tomorrow:
Olmsted County expects to start accepting same-sex marriage licenses tomorrow, according to Mark Krupski, the county's director of Property Records and Licensing.
That is much faster than had originally been anticipated. Krupski had said he expected the county to start accepting applications in July. But last Friday he called a meeting of the county's Information Technology staff and told them it was a high priority to get the changes done that would allow same-sex couples to begin applying for marriage licenses.
"As a show of support for that group of citizens, we really should move this along," Kruspki said.
The marriages won't be valid until August 1, when Minnesota's new law extending the freedom to marry to same-sex couples goes into effect. All marriage licenses aren't valid until five days after the application is made.
Olmsted joins a number of counties in Southern Minnesota where county officials have worked to allow gay and lesbian couple obtain licenses that would be valid August 1. While media has widely reported that couples can only apply for licenses in Hennepin, Ramsey and Washington Counties, Blue Earth, Brown, Nicollet, Pipestone, Renville, and Sibley Counties will accept applications for marriage licenses by same-sex couples.
Indeed, Pipestone County issued its first license last Monday, beating metro counties by a day.
However, Olmsted is being pro-active with outreach to the queer community. Carlson reports:
To help spread the work, Kruspki said the department plans to reach out to the local gay and lesbian community to explain the license application process.
Photo: A wedding cake topper for a happy couple.
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