<p>I don’t know how the legalities work in other states, but in New York you need a marriage license to get married by a clergyman. If there’s no license, the clergyman isn’t supposed to marry you. As I understand it,at least back then, part of the cost of getting a license from the state which allows you as a minister, priest, rabbi, iman, etc. to marry people is that you agree you’ll only marry people who have a marriage license. </p>
<p>Maybe those who are marrying same sex couples are breaking the law too–I don’t know. But right now, I don’t think it would be politically correct to prosecute them. </p>
<p>Marrying illegal aliens was a different story. Believe me, “the word” that there was a priest who spoke Spanish who would marry illegal aliens spread like wild fire. The next thing Father knew the cops were knocking at his door. The archdiocese reprimanded him for it and informed him he had to stop. He got transferred to a different parish. </p>
<p>A couple of years ago, the cleaning woman at work–who knows I’m Catholic–told me a huge fancy wedding her daughter was supposed to be a bridesmaid for had to be canceled because the groom was in fact an illegal alien. She was shocked that the priest refused to marry them because he was.( She was ranting…which made me suspect that her daughter was really the bride, not a bridesmaid. )</p>