UPDATE
As Hays County's General Counsel has issued guidance on the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriages, officials now await gender neutral documentation prior to issuing marriage licenses.
Hays County spokeswoman Laureen Chernow said the General Counsel has approved the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriages. According to the Hays County Facebook page, the County Clerk's office is now attempting to obtain gender neutral Hays County documents from either the State or County vendor. The County Clerk cannot issue another county's documents, nor can they change the vendor's electronic forms.
Chernow said County Clerk Liz Gonzalez is waiting to hear back from the vendor. She said the county will advise citizens as soon as the Gonzalez knows when forms will be ready.
According to Chernow, it is standard procedure for all new laws in the county to be reviewed by the General Counsel. Chernow said the counsel discusses with department heads any caveats with any new law.
Chernow did not have a timeframe as to when licenses could be issued, but she said the county would inform citizens "as soon as we know."
EARLIER
By Moses Leos III
As several Texas counties began issuing same-sex marriage licenses Friday, Hays County is waiting until they receive guidance from the county's General Counsel before issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
In an emailed response Friday, Hays County communications specialist Laureen Chernow said that the county's General Counsel's Office "will review the opinion to offer guidance after [Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton] offered" his opinion on the Supreme Court's ruling early Friday. The county must also receive updated forms from the State that will have to be sent to the County Clerk's office.
Chernow said the county doesn't have an estimated time as to when they might be ready to offer same-sex marriage licenses.
According to Chernow, the County Clerk's office said they have received some phone calls about same-sex marriage applications, but no one as of 2 p.m. has shown up to apply.
By a 5-4 ruling Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage legal in all 50 States. In a statement, Paxton offered a dissenting opinion by saying the ruling "marks a radical departure from countless generations of societal law and tradition." He went on to say that marriage "is the union of one man and one woman," and that he believes the next fight will be protecting religious liberties.
His decision, however, did not stop several counties in Texas, including Travis County, from issuing same-sex marriage licenses. According to media reports, the Travis County Clerk's Office issued over 50 same-sex marriage licenses by noon Friday.
