by Rex Wockner
National News Briefs
Supervisors in Kern County, Calif., voted unanimously July 8 to do nothing with a proposed ordinance to ban same-sex marriage in the conservative county.
The measure was proposed by the Campaign for Children and Families.
The supervisors acted after the county counsel informed them the ordinance would be unconstitutional. They expressed fears the illegal move would cost the county money.
The supervisors also set aside a proposal to investigate whether neighboring San Bernardino County could deputize Kern County employees who are willing to perform same-sex weddings.
In mid-June, Kern County Clerk Ann Barnett stopped offering any civil marriage ceremonies to avoid having to marry gay couples once the California Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage took effect on June 16.
In proposing the San Bernardino solution, Supervisor Don Maben likened Barnett's behavior to that of Southern school districts that closed schools rather than admit black students.
"You throw out everybody to shun a few. I believe it's morally wrong," Maben said, according to the Bakersfield Californian newspaper.
No one seconded Maben's proposal.
