Informed Opinions on Today’s Topics : License Move May Result in Wedding Blues

The decision by county authorities to stop issuing marriage licenses at Superior courthouses means that starting in July many of the 80,000 couples who tie the knot in Los Angeles County each year will have to travel downtown, to Norwalk or Lancaster. It may be inconvenient for Valley residents, but officials say the closures will save the county an estimated $560,000 annually.

Should couples have to go downtown or to Lancaster to get marriage licenses?

Terry Hopwood, president of Marriage Minded Introductions, a personal introduction service in Van Nuys:

“It would be a lot better to raise the marriage license fees to the point where it was self-supporting enough so that people wouldn’t have to be driving more than 10 miles or so. If there is some way to make marriage licenses self-supporting, I think that ought to be done. The idea is not to charge more tax dollars, but to make the thing self-supporting. I imagine it’s one of those things people are willing to pay slightly more for to avoid taking that drive. Since I’m marrying off a lot of couples, I would like for them to be able to more easily get their marriage licenses.”

Michael Antonovich, county supervisor:

“I would support having a computer located in the San Fernando Valley to permit the issuance of marriage licenses and birth certificates similar to the one I initiated in the Antelope Valley. We had the ribbon cutting about two years ago. This works very well and it saves the residents in the Antelope Valley from an hour-and-a-half to three-hour round trip by going to the facility. It saves time, money, reduces pollution and congestion and it’s a great service. The computer works in about 60 seconds.”

Robert Ringler, owner of Bel-Air Wedding Ceremonies and Service, who has married nearly 3,000 San Fernando Valley couples in the last 20 years:

“I’m really very upset about this. If you live in the Valley, it’s your community and you should be able to get things like a marriage license in the community in which you live, in which you participate, whether you live or work there and not have to be literally channeled into a mid-city, urban environment that’s totally foreign to you, where parking is exorbitant, where driving can be very cumbersome as well as costly because of time. It’s too bad the individual cities cannot contract with the state itself and be in the business of dispensing marriage licenses. Why the county even has to be involved is beyond me. It just adds another layer of bureaucracy. These licenses cost money. If you get the license that requires the blood test, the couple pays $35 for that. If the couple has been living together, that’s $44.25. Where does that money go? You’d be better off charging the couple more money because they are going to be paying more for gas, parking and inconvenience and I think some couples would probably prefer paying a little extra for the license.”

Richard Hughes, assistant registrar-recorder/county clerk:

“The problem is we’ve had a funding cut. When you weigh the inconvenience against public safety--police and firemen, paramedics, health, justice--it doesn’t hold a candle to what’s going on with the county budget. I don’t think people really grasp what is happening. When they do maybe they’ll be more understanding.”

Betty Bohrer of Encino, engaged to be married in July of 1994:

“It’s a tremendous inconvenience for people in the Valley. It would be like getting a passport, where the lines are horrendous. Most everyone would pay more for convenience, it just depends on how much more. And what about people who can’t drive downtown and have no way of getting there?