LAWTON, Okla.- Courthouse weddings will no longer be allowed at the Comanche County Courthouse when it opens back up on Monday.
Beginning Monday morning, the courthouse will be open to the public, but that means there will be a whole new set of rules. They’ll only be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with everyone coming into the building being required to wear a mask or bandana over their face.
Another big change is the elimination of courthouse weddings.
“There’s no more courthouse marriages at this time. The presiding judge chose not to do that because now that we’re going to be open, we’re going to have an influx of court cases that need to be heard,” said Comanche County Court Clerk Robert Morales. While you won’t be able to see a judge to get hitched, you can now get your marriage license from the county by going to their website, comanchecounty.us.
“The first page shows the application process. They can click on there and fill it out. They’ll email the information sheet to us, they’ll follow up with a phone call to see if we received it. An appointment will be made with the couple to come in and pick up the marriage license. We’ve got them in and out, less exposure to them and to the public with them and to the employees,” Morales said.
Morales said going forward, they will only issue marriage licenses to people living in the county. In the past, people would come from across the state to get married here.
“We were one of only two counties I’m aware of that were performing courthouse marriages. I can see those numbers going down and folks getting their license in the county they reside. Saying that, we’re going to be processing license for Comanche County residents only, proof of residency will be required,” Morales said.
Morales said they will be making exceptions for anyone looking to get married while stationed at Fort Sill. This is just one of the several changes you’ll see at the courthouse. Comanche County Commissioner Johnny Owens said they had several meetings with every department to make sure they keep everyone safe when they reopen the courthouse.
“That’s the main thing is the safety of the people and that we do things right. You just never know who has been where. I ask that people would please don’t bring your kids with you. Limit the people that come because this is going to be a soft opening and we’re going to only allow 100 people in at a time in the whole courthouse,” Owens said.
Employees of the courthouse will not count towards that 100 people.
