skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Marriage Certificates Replace Bride and Groom with Spouse and Spouse

play audio
Play

Monday, September 14, 2015   

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In a nod to the legalization of same-sex marriage, Florida marriage certificates and license applications will change, starting today, to read "spouse" and "spouse" instead of "bride" and "groom."

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Florida since Jan. 6, and nationwide since the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June.

Terry DeCarlo, executive director of the GLBT Center of Central Florida in Orlando, applauds the change, saying it's a matter of equality and respect.

"Of course, it needed to be done,” he states. “The marriage certificates before said 'bride' and 'groom.' When you have a same-sex marriage, there isn't a bride and a groom. There is a spouse and a spouse, a bride and a bride, a groom and a groom, so it just should have been 'spouse' and 'spouse.' Simple as that."

The Bureau of Vital Statistics says the change had to go through an administrative process that took some time.

But DeCarlo says it was a simple change that should not have taken nine months to accomplish.

"You take it as a slap in the face,” he says. “You take it as, yes, we had a marriage equality as of January but the state is still looking down at us as second-class citizens and saying, 'Uh, we'll get around to changing the forms online when we get around to it. We'll get around to it.' That's just unacceptable."

Marriage certificates are required to apply for a range of spousal protections and benefits. They can be ordered online with the Bureau of Vital Statistics. Marriage licenses come from one of 67 county clerks.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021