Stephen Schuster, chief judge of Cobb Superior Court, met with Cobb County Chief Probate Judge Kelli Wolk immediately after the ruling.
Schuster said he wanted to make sure that the probate court had all the support it needs.
“I’m here to make sure everything goes smoothly and we follow the rule of law,” Schuster said in an interview. “I want to make sure there is coordination so that we don’t have any hiccups – and I don’t expect any hiccups.”
Wolk said the county will begin issuing marriage licenses to gay couples after Attorney General Sam Olens’ office issued an opinion that the Supreme Court decision applies to Georgia. She said there were three phone calls to her office asking about licenses in the first hour after the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Wolk said the county will hold a special 4 p.m. marriage ceremony Friday, in addition to the regularly-scheduled 6 p.m. service.
Cobb County made national headlines in 1993, when the county commission passed a resolution condemning gay lifestyles as “incompatible with the standards to which this community subscribes.”
That action caused the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games to move its volleyball venue from Cobb for the 1996 Summer Games.
-- filed by Dan Klepal
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