Bride humiliated by state law

Oklahoma Constitution’s ban same-sex marriage cited

Ken Townsend
Senior Editor

When Sara Doolin married her partner Jennifer Maib in Iowa last August, it was one of the happiest days of her life. Ready to settle into married life, she set out to change her name and became Mrs. Sara Maib.

In October, she set out on the task of getting her married name established. At the Social Security office she changed her name, and got a new social security card. Then it was off to a local tag agency with her marriage certificate to get her name changed on her driver’s license.

And that’s when things got difficult. At Bethany Tag Agency, Sara related, they “said they couldn’t issue a new license because they had a memo telling them not to issue name changes to same sex couples without a court order.”

Because of an amendment to the state Constitution in 2004, Oklahoma does not recognize same sex marriages from other states.

Sara decided to try another agency. Red Cap Tag Agency issued the license. With license in hand, Sara asked, “Why did I have so much trouble at the other tag agency?” She then went on to describe her difficulties at the Bethany Tag Agency. Hearing her story, the license agent took a closer look at her paper work and realized the marriage certificate was for a same sex couple.

Sara continued, “She took the paperwork to her boss and came back and demanded my license back. I told her she had already shredded my old license and I wouldn’t have a license. So I refused to give it back and told her I was leaving. The lady told me the license was invalid and she would call DPS. I told her to go ahead and then I left.”

But the tag agency was not going to leave it at that. As Sara was driving out of the parking lot, Conner Cascante, the son of Red Cap’s owner, ran out and blocked her car. The owner of the agency reached through Sara’s car window and snatched the license.

“I was crying and told them I wouldn’t have a valid license now,” Sara said. “They let me go back inside and re-issued my license in my maiden name. So now I have a license that shows me sad and crying. I was scared and completely humiliated.”

When The Gayly contacted Conner Cascante, he verified Maib’s basic account of the story. He said, however, “When she left the agency I went out to stop her and get the license back. When she tried to go around me, I just stepped in front of the vehicle. She had already removed the license from her wallet, so my mom just reached in and took the license back.”

Cascante went on to say, “I told her how sorry I was that this happened, but we had to follow the law. I felt so sorry for her I cried with her. We don’t ever want anyone to feel like she felt or feel discriminated against. It’s upset everyone, my family, too, but it’s the law. We’re getting some very hateful comments about this and it’s very upsetting.”

The Gayly determined the source of the memo cited by the two tag agencies was from Jacqueline McClintock, owner of the Bartlesville Tag Agency. McClintock heads up a group that serves as a liaison between Oklahoma tag agents, the Oklahoma Tax Commission and the Department of Public Safety.

McClintock refused to give a copy of the memo to The Gayly sating, “We were told by the DPS that we were not to issue license name changes to same sex married couples without a court order.”

She further stated that, “we sent this out to every agency in the state that we had an email address for.” After asking for a copy, The Gayly was referred to the legal department of the DPS.

The secrecy surrounding the memo issued to the tag agencies is curious. The content is known, but no one is willing to provide a copy or take responsibility. It’s not even clear that a simple name change on a driver’s license would violate the Constitution’s ban on recognizing gay marriage.

Captain George Brown, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety, confirmed that the DPS position is that no tag agency shall issue a driver’s license name change to a same sex couple without a court order in order to comply with the state’s constitutional ban on the recognition of same sex marriages. He went on to say, ”I checked with our legal department and they told me it (the memo) did not originate with them,” the opposite of what McClintock told The Gayly. An email to McClintock requesting a clarification was unanswered.

After an extended conversation with Captain Brown, he asserted that to knowingly apply for an Oklahoma driver’s license under a false name is a crime. “This is new territory for the DPS,” Capt. Brown stated. This ignores the fact that Sara’s name change is not false, and was legally made in Iowa

In a statement to The Gayly, Oklahoma ACLU Legal Director, Brady Henderson indicated the ACLU in Oklahoma is finishing work on a lawsuit against the State of Oklahoma challenging the constitutionality of certain aspects of the 2004 constitutional amendment among which is the issue faced by Sara Maib: the recognition of legal out-of-state same sex marriages. This suit is expected to be filed as early as this month.

November 4, 2013