Local courts prepare after same-sex decision

Probate courts in Mercer and Auglaize counties are prepared for the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court's same-sex marriage ruling.

The 5-4 ruling on Friday declared same-sex couples have the right to marry anywhere in the United States.

Ohio was of 14 states still enforcing bans on same-sex marriage.

Mercer County Probate Court Judge Mary Pat Zitter said the county's marriage applications will not change.

The form already refers to those applying as "applicant 1" and "applicant 2," she said.

"When the court makes a decision, it becomes law of the land. We have to follow it," Zitter said Friday morning.

Ohio law had defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Ohio did not allow same-sex couples to marry within its borders and had refused to recognize same-sex marriages from other locations.

Zitter Friday morning was still reviewing the decision.

Auglaize County Probate Court was also prepared for the decision, clerk Sue Foote said.

The court has two separate forms for marriage applications. The words "bride" and "groom" are used on one form while "applicant 1" and "applicant 2" appear on the second.

Neither court as of Friday was aware of any same-sex couples interested in marrying.

The ruling will not take effect immediately because the Supreme Court gives the losing side about three weeks to seek the court's reconsideration.

Despite the waiting period, some couples are starting to apply for marriage licenses in Ohio.

A same-sex couple was married hours after the Supreme Court decision Friday morning by Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley.

Ethan Fletcher and Andrew Hickam had been engaged nearly two years but wanted to wait in hopes same-sex marriage would become legal in their home state.

The two men went to the marriage license bureau Friday in Hamilton County after hearing of the ruling.

Forty-four-year-old Rob Rivera and 34-year-old Dan Seifried of Cleveland Heights were the first pair to apply for a marriage license in the Cuyahoga County Probate Court following the ruling.

The couple planned to be married Friday evening by Cleveland Councilman Joe Cimperman in front of family and friends.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine filed a legal brief at the Supreme Court in March that argued the state had always followed the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.

Ohio's insurers expect to see little difference due to the ruling.

"Ohio insurance law does not now, nor did it previously, prevent an insurer from covering any individual or group of individuals under a private insurance policy," Leslie Minnich, the Ohio Department of Insurance chief of communications, said in an email. "Because the definition of who is eligible for coverage is up to each insurer doing business in Ohio, some insurers may want to make changes, others will not - depending on the language that is currently used in their policy forms approved for use in Ohio."

Ohio's ban was passed by voters in 2004. The Friday ruling overturned a 2-1 opinion issued last November by a 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in Cincinnati that heard arguments last August on cases from Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.

Other states affected by the ruling include Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Texas.

- The Associated Press contributed to this story.