JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Since Duval Clerk of Courts Ronnie Fussell decided to stop performing wedding ceremonies he has faced harsh and nasty criticism.
"It has been pretty tough, it has not been fair," he said.
Fussell said it became very personal at times for he and his employees.
"It was tough to be called names," he said. "I don't used those kind of words, it was tough to see my staff belittled."
Fussell, 58, is in his first term as Duval Clerk of Courts.
Last December, Fussell and his staff made a decision to stop performing marriages in his office. What followed changed his perspective of what appeared to be a noncontroversial position.
"I did not expect it to be so political," Fussell said.
Fussell said it was a budgetary decision. Wedding ceremonies, at $30 a piece, brought in $50-60,000 a year, while the expenses were $80,000.
"We were looking at the dollars and we were upside down," he said.
Even so, his critics claimed the decision was to skirt Florida's same sex marriage law.
"Looking back, would you do have done anything differently? No sir!" said Fussell.
Florida law states Fussell and other clerks shall issue marriage licenses. It doesn't say he has to perform wedding ceremonies; the law says he may.
Some have tried to compare his decision to the position of Kim Davis. Davis is the Clerk of Courts in Rowan County, Ky., who refuses to issue same sex marriage licenses.
Fussell said there is no comparison. "There's no comparison because we are following the law," Fussell said.
Still, Fussell's decision has resulted in threats against the safety of he and his family, which during the past 10 months required the Jacksonville Sheriff Office's protection.
"I never thought being in the clerk's office you would be threatened," he said.
Fussell said his focus is the 400 employees and creating a more efficient clerk's office.
This November, the office will begin issuing passports. Fussell said that will generate enough revenue to replace what was lost when the office stopped performing wedding ceremonies.
When asked if this will become an issue during re-election, he said it might, but he will campaign on the truth and his integrity.
Fussell said it is time to move on. "The law has been made. Let's move on, that's not going to change my beliefs and your beliefs. Let's move on and figure out a way to work and live together."
He said 60 percent of the Clerk of Courts in Florida have stopped performing wedding ceremonies for one reason or the other.
