Arkansas Marriage Laws | § 9-11-208

Arkansas Code Annotated 9-11-208

License not issued to persons of the same sex.

(a) (1) (A) It is the public policy of the State of Arkansas to recognize the marital union only of man and woman. (B) A license shall not be issued to a person to marry another person of the same sex, and no same-sex marriage shall be recognized as entitled to the benefits of marriage. (2) Marriages between persons of the same sex are prohibited in this state. Any marriage entered into by a person of the same sex, when a marriage license is issued by another state or by a foreign jurisdiction, shall be void in Arkansas, and any contractual or other rights granted by virtue of that license, including its termination, shall be unenforceable in the Arkansas courts. (3) However, nothing in this section shall prevent an employer from extending benefits to a person who is a domestic partner of an employee. (b) A license shall not be issued to a person to marry unless and until the female shall attain the age of sixteen (16) years and the male the age of seventeen (17) years and then only by written consent by a parent or guardian until the male shall have attained the age of eighteen (18) years and the female the age of eighteen (18) years.

(Acts 1941, No. 404, § 2; A.S.A. 1947, § 55-211; Acts 1997, No. 146, §§ 1, 2; 2007, No. 441, § 3; 2008 (1st Ex. Sess.), No. 3, § 3; 2011, No. 793, § 2.)

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More Arkansas Marriage Laws

§ 9-11-213 Persons who may solemnize marriages.
§ 9-11-101 Marriage a civil contract — Consent of parties.
§ 9-11-103 Minimum age — Exception.
§ 9-11-104 Minimum age — Lack of parental consent or misrepresentation of age — Annulment.
§ 9-11-106 Incestuous marriages — Penalties for entering into or solemnizing.
§ 9-11-107 Validity of foreign marriages.
§ 9-11-108 Presumption of spouse's death — Validity of subsequent marriage.
§ 9-11-109 Validity of same-sex marriages.
§ 9-11-202 Form of license.
§ 9-11-204 Issuance of license unlawfully — Penalty.
§ 9-11-206 Clerk's fees.
§ 9-11-207 Applicants for marriage licenses to be sober.
§ 9-11-208 License not issued to persons of the same sex.
§ 9-11-215 Marriage ceremony.
§ 9-11-210 Bond of applicant.
§ 9-11-212 Application without other's consent — Penalties — Damages.
§ 9-11-214 Recordation of credentials of clerical character.
§ 9-11-217 Failure to sign and return license at time of marriage — Penalty.
§ 9-11-218 Return of executed license to clerk — Effect on bond.
§ 9-11-219 False return or record — Penalty.
§ 9-11-221 Certified copies of record as evidence.
§ 9-11-301 Execution of contract.
§ 9-11-302 Acknowledgment or proof.
§ 9-11-801 Title.
§ 9-11-304 Effect of unrecorded contract.
§ 9-11-305 Contract or copy as evidence — Conclusiveness.
§ 9-11-701 Persons acting for clerk.
§ 9-11-702 Marriages performed by mayors.
§ 9-11-703 Recordation of credentials of clerical character — Applicability of § 9-11-214.
§ 9-11-704 Marriages solemnized out of county.
§ 9-11-706 Marriage before entry of divorce decree.
§ 9-11-705 Marriages solemnized by municipal court judges.
§ 9-11-803 Covenant marriage.
§ 9-11-805 Form of affidavit.
§ 9-11-806 Other applicable rules.
§ 9-11-809 Suit against spouse — Separation.
§ 9-11-810 Effects of separation.
§ 9-11-811 Informational pamphlet.
§ 9-11-211 Military personnel — Waiver of certain license requirements — Proceedings.
§ 9-11-201 Licenses required.
§ 9-11-216 Solemnization contrary to law — Penalty.
§ 9-11-203 Issuance by clerks.
§ 9-11-102 Minimum age — Parental consent — Definition.
§ 9-11-802 Definitions.
§ 9-11-105 Marriage of underage parties voidable.
§ 9-11-209 Proof of age — Parental consent.
§ 9-11-807 Applicability to already married couples.
§ 9-11-205 Notice of intention to wed — Noncompliance, penalties, and effect.
§ 9-11-220 Duty of clerk on return of license — Issuance of certificate.
§ 9-11-303 Recordation — Effect.
§ 9-11-804 Content of declaration of intent.
§ 9-11-808 Divorce or separation.