JEFFERSON CITY — The Recorder of Deeds is the public instrument through which we secure our property rights and where couples acquire marriage licenses. The Missouri Legislature should do all it can to ensure these two very important functions are carried out as efficiently as possible.

House Bill 1514 will help the Recorder of Deeds, in each county in our great state, by allowing them to issue a marriage license to applicants who are unable to sign the application in the presence of the recorder due to the applicants’ military service in another state or country, as long as certain documents are presented. This measure will also allow incarcerated persons to apply for a marriage license.

Allowing people in extenuating circumstances, especially those brave men and women who are serving our country in other states or around the world to still apply for and obtain a marriage license in our state is common decency. The legislation also calls for common respect to allow each person the ability to join another in marriage, a right we cannot deny those who can legally marry in our state.

Not only is it common sense, but House Bill 1514 allows the Recorder of Deeds to perform his or her important responsibilities. The Recorder of Deeds provides a single location in which records of real property rights are recorded and held for research or viewing by any interested person. The office also maintains documents recorded by the Recorder of Deeds, which includes deeds, mortgages, mechanics’ liens, releases, plats, and more. There is a variety of business that brings a person to the recorder’s office, and receiving a marriage license is typically the happiest time in their lives. To deny these fine people in our state the ability to obtain a marriage license because of their inability to be physically present at the office is absurd.