Chapel owner touts one-stop marriages

Wednesday, March 21, 2001 | 9:43 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A wedding chapel owner says Nevada can improve the way it treats tourists by clearing the way for one-stop marriages.

Bottlenecks commonly occur when people try to obtain licenses from the county clerk's office in Las Vegas, says George Flint, who owns the Chapel of the Bells in Reno. Couples can experience delays of up to six hours before securing the license and returning to be wed, said Flint, who wants the law changed to allow chapels to issue the licenses.

Assembly Bill 254 would "alleviate the long lines" at the clerk's office, Flint told the Assembly Judiciary Committee Tuesday.

About 126,000 marriage licenses were issued last year in Clark County, said Flint, who said he had the support of several wedding chapels in Las Vegas.

Clark County Clerk Shirley Parraguirre opposes the bill. She said the typical waiting period has been reduced to 30 to 40 minutes. And more improvements are on the horizon, she said.

She said that in two to three months her staff will discard typewriters and switch to personal computers to process marriage licenses.

An electronic hook-up with wedding chapels -- where the prospective couple could fill out an application -- would be installed, she said. Couples could then drive to the county clerk's office, where there will be an express line, thus allowing the prospective bride and groom to complete the licensing process in five to 10 minutes.

Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, questioned the presence of any problems regarding the one-stop service. She suggested that downtown Las Vegas, where the county courthouse is located, is not easily accessible. What's more, it's difficult to find a parking place, she said.

Parraguirre said she is concerned about the filing of marriage records because the county clerk is responsible for them.

In addition, she said, wedding chapels have a conflict of interest because they are in the business of promoting marriages.

She said her office turns away couples who are not old enough to get married, those with false birth certificates and those with somebody masquerading as the parent. In addition, her staff must attend the same class as bartenders take to learn to recognize when someone is drunk.

She suggested that wedding chapels would not take those precautionary steps because they want the business.

In a related matter, Parraguirre defended her issuance several months ago of proposed regulations to conduct background checks on ministers who want to perform marriages. She said the law requires that ministers not have a felony conviction in the past 10 years. Some offer false information on their applications, she said.

The bill would repeal the present law that requires the sheriff or district attorney to conduct a background investigation and that the marriage business of the minister would be incidental to the services of his congregation.

Allen Lichtenstein, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, said Nevada is the only state that requires background checks. He called it an "intrusion of government in determining who is a minister."

The bill would require the minister or another person authorized by the church or religious society to submit an application along with an affidavit attesting that he has the authority to perform weddings.