Governor Deal of Georgia passed a law at the end of April that may make it impossible (or at least much harder) for the undocumented to marry in the Church.
In order to receive the Sacrament of Marriage in the Church, the couple must secure a wedding license at the local courthouse or present a legal marriage certificate. Since it is not necessary to show one’s legal status to get a marriage license, most undocumented immigrants have used their passports from their home countries as identification to get the license.
On April 24th, Governor Deal removed foreign passports from the list of “secure and verifiable” documents that government agencies could accept if they require identification for an official purpose. Unable to identify themselves with a passport or any document from their home country, the undocumented will not be able to marry.
If this new law is enforced at probate courts where wedding licenses are issued, the only option for the undocumented to marry will be to visit their country’s nearest consulate and process paperwork there.
Some may feel no pity for the predicament created by the new law, but when the people affected by it are members of the flock entrusted to you by Christ, when you see they are people striving to live out their marriage lovingly, you cannot help but to feel hurt.
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