TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Kern County Auditor-Controller-County Clerk Ann Barnett repeatedly tried to avoid licensing and performing marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples, interviews and e-mails obtained by The Californian show.

At her request, County Counsel Bernard Barmann filed a brief with the California Supreme Court opposing implementation of the May 15 ruling allowing gay marriage.

She tried to resign her elected position as county clerk — while keeping her positions as auditor-controller and elections boss.

“She really wanted to get rid of it,” Barmann said.

And finally, when the ruling came down Wednesday that she had to license same-sex marriages, she decided to stop performing all weddings. That involved canceling 25 heterosexual ceremonies that had been scheduled after June 13, according to her staff.

HER CHOICE

Barnett, who was elected in 2006, is not required by law to perform marriage ceremonies.

So when the California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to postpone legalization of gay marriage until voters decide the issue in November, Barnett’s office issued a news release stating “the County Clerk's office will not solemnize weddings after June 13, 2008. We will not have the staff or space to deal with an increase in both licenses and ceremonies.”

Barmann said he advised Barnett that she could not stop ceremonies in a discriminatory fashion.

“That would be a lawsuit before breakfast,” he said.

Right after the decision came down, Barnett’s second-in-command fired off an e-mail to lawyers with gay-marriage opposition group Alliance Defense Fund seeking legal protection for Barnett if she canceled all civil marriages in the county of Kern.

“Our question is, now that the Supreme Court has refused to stay its decision, will Alliance Defense Fund defend the County Clerk if she ceases performing all marriage ceremonies,” asked Assistant Auditor-Controller-County Clerk Glenn Spencer in an e-mail asking advice from Senior Legal Counsel Brian Raum. “We have the news media calling for her response, and we need to issue a news release today, but she really needs to be assured of your legal assistance before she speaks to them, as we fully expect to be sued and our own counsel is not being of help.”

On its Web site, the Alliance Defense Fund states it “is a servant organization that provides the resources that will keep the door open for the spread of the gospel through the legal defense and advocacy of religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, and traditional family values.”

UNAVAILABLE

Barnett was out of her office Thursday, according to her staff. She did not return e-mails or calls to her cell phone or county phone.

Spencer would not respond to questions fromThe Californian,other than to repeat the wording in Wednesday’s news release.

He refused to release public records indicating how much money wedding ceremonies generated for the county over the past five years.

But records obtained from the clerk’s office for April and May of 2008 shed some light on whether wedding ceremonies are a financial drain on the county, as the news release claims.

The county clerk’s office charges $30 for every ceremony it performs.

In April and May the office performed 299 marriage ceremonies, according to records.

That’s income — over two months — of $8,970.

At that rate, it appears the county brings in more than $50,000 a year from performing marriages, before costs are figured into the equation.

An analysis of the pay of the county staff who perform the ceremonies puts the revenue into context.

The top average hourly pay for an office services specialist — one of the classifications that conducts the weddings — is around $19.20 an hour, based on county salary charts.

A marriage ceremony conducted Thursday took seven minutes to perform.

Barnett’s news release also stated that the county does not have the space to deal with increased ceremonies.

But her office currently has two separate wedding rooms set aside for the marriage ceremonies.

IT'S NOT THE CEREMONY

Local same sex marriage advocate Whitney Weddell isn’t overly concerned that Barnett’s office won’t offer civil ceremonies.

“Who really wants to be married by a hater?” she quipped.

What the gay, lesbian and transgender community has always wanted, she said, is the marriage license.

Weddell said she actually respects Barnett’s attempt to step down as county clerk.

“I respect her attempt to abide by the tenets of her faith,” she said.

MARRIAGE PLANS

Despite Barnett’s ruling, some same-sex couples will gather outside the county clerk’s office for their wedding ceremonies June 17.

Rev. Byrd Tetzlaff of Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Kern County said she will be at the office that morning from 8 a.m. until her energy runs out. She said she will perform weddings for free until Nov. 4.

“I would like people to know that I’m more than willing to do this,” she said. “Justice for one is justice for all, and I’m glad California is open to this.”

Molly McKay said she will perform free wedding services at the office “as long as couples are coming.” Although McKay has officiated two weddings for friends, she said she is looking forward to gaining more experience with these ceremonies in the coming months.

“It’s going to be a very special day, especially for couples who have waited decades,” she said. “And I want to make sure that they get the proper joy, love, dignity and respect they deserve on their wedding day, so I’m coming down to make sure everybody who wants to get married can and will.”

— Staff writer Angelle Barbazon contributed to this report.