Who can perform marriages

[J.E. McNeil]

In the District of Columbia, there are some residency
requirements for common law marriages.  In DC the marriage
co-habitation need only be a day, but it does appear to
require that you are a resident.  I have not kept up with
Texas law since leaving 20+ years ago, but would have
thought there were residency requirements.

Friends, of course, marry ourselves (as I did my husband) by
the exchange of vows in front of our family and friends.  In
DC, where the statute provides for Ministers to perform
weddings, the Quakers have been required to list their
members of the marriage and family  committee as "ministers"
in order to have the legal ability sign a marriage license
since we are "all" ministers under our faith and have no
"hireling ministers" to register permanently.  The new DC
administration, apparently in fear of the Congressional
dictatorship, has recently added the requirement of a
notarized affidavit by each "minister."

West Virginia, on the other hand, does not recognize
Friends' marriages at all.  I have often thought that
Friends should rattle some WV chains on that issue.  Why
should our marriages not be accepted just because we don't
have ministers?

J. E. McNeil
Washington, DC
jmcnrick at erols.com