Those hoping to get their marriage licenses in the District got some bad news after the government shutdown: The D.C. Marriage Bureau is closed as well.
The change was announced on the D.C. Courts website on December 18. D.C. Courts will remain open, but “the Committee on Admissions, Marriage Bureau, Library, and Child Care Center are closed during the government shutdown,” the website reads.
That’s because the D.C. Marriage Bureau receives federal funding.
For Caitlin Walters, that puts her February 2 wedding in jeopardy.
Walters and her fiancé, Kirk Kasa, both Catholic University graduates, were planning on a Catholic ceremony at the university’s chapel on February 2.
The two met as students at Catholic University. They both live and work in New York City now, but were hoping to marry in D.C., surrounded by friends and family.
“We immediately knew we wanted to have it in D.C.,” Walters said of the wedding. The pair got engaged 18 months ago and still have friends in the D.C. area.
However, as she explained, a D.C. marriage license is required for the priest to marry them.
On the Catholic University website, a license obtained from the Northwest office in D.C. is listed as a requirement.
Their plan was to get the marriage license after visiting Walters’ parents south of D.C. over Christmas. Walters said she called to make sure the bureau would be open the day after Christmas just before the shutdown and was told they would be.
She also checked the website, but said she saw that the message on top said, “During the federal government shutdown the District of Columbia Courts will be open,” and that jurors, for example, should still report.
But, while driving on I-95 towards D.C. to get the marriage license, Walters said she decided to triple-check. That’s when they got the bad news.
“They said the office is closed, there was a sign on the door saying it was closed,” Walters said.
Walters said the message at the top of the website didn’t make it clear that they wouldn’t be able to receive marriage licenses. The office of Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), when reached on Wednesday afternoon, said they were looking into it for clarification.
As for Walters and Kasa, after emailing the priest who would be performing their ceremony, they have a plan B ready should they need it: To get a license in New York and have a civil ceremony in a courthouse. Then, the priest planning on marrying them at Catholic University can perform a similar ceremony, Walters explained. However, that ceremony wouldn’t technically be a marriage ceremony.
And that’s not ideal for the couple, who says they’re going to wait out the shutdown. After posting about the issue to Twitter and tagging the D.C. Courts, Walters says they responded letting her know the office will reopen as soon as the government does and the couple can get their license same day.
Despite the stressful situation, Walters still joked about it on Wednesday night. “I used to live in D.C., so I know the whole ‘taxation without representation.’”
On Wednesday night, the office of D.C. Mayor Bowser released a statement that the "government shutdown can't stop love," and pledged to put forth emergency legislation to allow authority to issue marriage licenses.
The government shutdown entered day 12 on Wednesday. Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo officially closed, after reaching the end of their prior-year funds.