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88 Of 95 Tennessee Counties Complying With Same-Sex Ruling

Posted at 8:11 AM, Jun 30, 2015
and last updated 2015-07-09 00:22:10-04

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Seven of Tennessee's 95 counties were not issuing same-sex marriage licenses on Monday, but officials said technical hurdles, rather than political objections, were to blame for the majority of the delays.

The state's 88 other counties were complying with the Supreme Court's Friday ruling that overturned gay marriage bans.

Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project says he is glad officials in the state are not trying to block the licenses like some in Texas and Mississippi are.

Sanders said of the seven counties that have not issued licenses, many are not doing so because they are having technical issues with paperwork or software upgrades. He says one exception is Smith County, where officials have stopped issuing all marriage licenses.

(Copyright 2015 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)