California jails to allow gay weddings - just not between 2 inmates

Gay inmates will soon have the right to marry under new guidelines expected to take effect in California next month.

But inmates in the state's 33 adult prisons won't be allowed to hitch their ball and chain to fellow prisoners, officials say. The same-sex spouse must be someone on the outside.

"Safety and security are top priorities," said Corrections spokeswoman Michele Kane, who cited the potential for harassment should inmates be allowed to marry each other.

"If prisoners were found out to have money or other assets, they might find themselves coerced into marriages with more powerful inmates who then might try to lay claim to half their net worth," she said.

Three female inmates have requested same-sex marriages since the California Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in June, Kane said. No male inmates have applied, she said.

California jails to allow gay weddings - just not between 2 inmates
New York Daily News - New York,NY,USA