Last week, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced that after the Supreme Court decision that allowed marriage equality to resume in California, inmates in the state will know be allowed to marry same-sex partners–as long as their partners aren't in jail.
In a memo released by the CDCR involving the change, the department said that, "[c]onsistent with existing practices, and in furtherance of security concerns …, a currently incarcerated inmate shall not, at this time, be permitted to marry another currently incarcerated inmate."
According to the Sacramento Bee, the memo was distributed by the office of San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano:
Ammiano's office said in a media release that some prisons had interpreted the law in a way that barred inmates from marrying same-sex partners, prompting a legislative inquiry and the ensuing memo.
"Inmates have the same legal right to marry as those who are not inmates," said Bill Sessa, a spokesman for the state corrections department. "The memo clarifies the policy we already had."
You can read the full memo released by the CDCR, AFTER THE JUMP…
(photo by Wally Skalij for the Los Angeles Times)
