Justice
of the Peace
Newsletter
Vol. 8 Issue 1
January 2010
Happy New
Year
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In This
Issue:
State Update: |
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10% Discount on Robes Continues through January
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Ruminations from the President Looking Back 2009 and the decade as a whole were good years for me as a JP personally and for the JP Association as a whole. What began as “just an idea” has grown to be a vibrant organization. I know that our success is based on fulfilling your needs: for wedding leads, for opportunities to meet (until now only in Connecticut) and converse with other JPs and for representing your interests. From the beginning, we understood the importance of distinguishing our member JPs from the thousands of JPs who are not members of the Association. The Code of Ethics members subscribe to is one way of doing that. When JPs correspond with us, they often include their business card in the envelope and we enjoy seeing the myriad creative ways JPs advertise their services. Carol Schweitzer-Schilling’s card recently delighted me because she chose to say “Member of the Justice of the Peace Association” on its back side. I realized that we have reached a point where membership itself is something to brag about.
Looking Ahead
Saul Haffner Do Wait Periods Matter: Your Views
"What are these Town Clerks thinking? There is
absolutely no waiting period in Connecticut.
If it's a shortage of staff, then make
appointments, or only issue them at certain
times. But they must be issued when the
couple comes in to apply, providing all is
in order." Karen W. Gaudreau, East
Windsor CT Town Clerk.
"I don't sympathize with out-of-state couples
[who have to wait a day or two for the license]," writes
Hamden CT JP Walt Tucker.
"This isn't Las Vegas. And if couples
'frequently decide to marry elsewhere,' then
clearly they have other options....
I don't sympathize with greed, either: It isn't a business, it's
a public office. "If a couple cannot wait the 3 days to receive their license [in MA], they can have the wait period waived.... Most [out-of-state couples] go for the waiver but it does cost quite a bit. Each courthouse may charge a different fee." Barbara Kahn, Malden MA JP. "What I do object to is that the town clerks clearly had more input into the writing of the law [requiring couples to get their license in the town where the marriage will be celebrated] than the JP Association. The Association needs to do more than know about pending changes, we need to DRIVE those changes. I would have thought somebody at the Association would have put those complaints into the ears of a state legislator." Volunteers needed! Ed. New Hampshire Gays Wed, DC Prepares
On January 1, New Hampshire became the fifth state where
same sex couples can legally marry. On January 1
of next year, all NH civil
unions that have not been converted to marriage or dissolved will
automatically change to a marriage.
In December, Washington D.C.'s City Council passed a gay marriage bill and the mayor signed it. Congress, which oversees the district's laws, has 30 days to review it. To block the measure, Congress would have to enact a joint resolution of disapproval, which is considered unlikely. Washington already recognizes same-sex marriages performed legally in other states, which are Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and Iowa. Other countries where gay marriage is legal include The Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Spain, Norway, Sweden and South Africa. "Of 208 weddings I performed in 2009," writes Betty Allard, Montville CT JP, "107 came from findaJP.com. Not bad, huh?" If you are not featured on findaJP.com, consider joining the Justice of the Peace Association. and get noticed! |