The California Supreme Court’s decision overturning the state’s ban on same-sex marriages means county clerks will be required to perform marriages for same-sex couples starting next month.

Workers in the San Diego County clerk’s office who object to same-sex marriages, however, may be excused from officiating at same-sex weddings.

County Clerk Gregory Smith said he is considering allowing his employees to opt out of the ceremonies for religious or moral reasons.

“I don’t think it’s correct to force employees to do it,” Smith said. “I don’t think you would want someone who is hostile to your beliefs performing your ceremony.”

While the clerk declined to discuss his personal views on the issue, he did say he obeys the law.

In its 4-3 ruling, the California Supreme Court struck down state laws against same-sex marriage on May 15. Following the ruling officials said those marriages could begin in about a month – the time it typically takes for the justices’ opinions to become final – although legal and administrative snags could delay that timetable.

The idea to allow county workers to be excused from performing some marriages came after staff discussions on how the court’s decision would be implemented, Smith said.

Of the 115 employees who are deputized to perform marriages so far none have asked to be excused from officiating at the ceremonies. Still, the clerk said he wants to respect those with strong beliefs and also meet the need to serve same-sex couples.

Smith’s comments sparked statewide discussion and criticism from some of his colleagues.

The Los Angeles city attorney said last week that county workers authorized to perform marriage ceremonies must be willing to conduct same-sex marriages under the landmark court ruling, regardless of their personal views.

City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo said in similar letters to the secretary of state and Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors that any policy that would allow certain workers to conduct only marriages between a man and a woman would be inconsistent with the high court’s decision.

“County clerks have no legal standing to grant county employees the authority or ability to choose which marriages they wish not to officiate at, based on their personal views or biases,” Delgadillo wrote. The court “has been crystal clear on this issue – same-sex couples must be afforded equal protection under the law.”

The Los Angeles Times reported that acting Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan said supervisors in his department asked him to consider devising procedures for county workers who may be uncomfortable officiating same-sex marriages.

However, on Monday the Times ran a correction on its Web site, clarifying that Logan said a supervisor in his department identified the issue as a potential concern, but that no one urged him to allow employees to opt out of officiating same-sex marriages.

A spokesman for the office, Paul Drugan, said Monday no such policy was being contemplated. Logan, in a letter released by his office, said “we have had no employees or volunteer civil marriage commissioners raise concerns with this issue at all.”

The county is “committed to implementing this court decision, fully and completely,” Drugan said.

Kate Folmar, a spokeswoman for the secretary of state, said the office has “no role in granting marriage licenses and ... no authority to provide any instructions to county clerks on how to implement the California Supreme Court’s recent decision. That authority rests with individual counties or the attorney general.”

According to officials exactly when couples will be able to get married is still unclear.

Stephen Weir, who heads the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials, said May 26 he was told by the Office of Vital Records that clerks would be authorized to hand out marriage licenses as soon as June 14, which is a Saturday and exactly 30 days after the high court’s ruling.

Weir added that the state planned to give California’s 58 counties advice this week for implementing the historic change so local officials can start planning.

Suanne Buggy, a spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health, which oversees the vital records office, would not confirm Monday that state officials have settled the matter of when counties can or must start extending marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

“We will be getting guidance out to the counties soon,” Buggy said.

According to Weir, it would be up to each county clerk to decide whether to open their offices to gay and lesbian couples on that Saturday or to wait until the following Monday.

Some clerks have said they would try to accommodate couples at the earliest possible date, depending on their staffing and anticipated demand, he said.

If the court’s decision does take effect on June 14, couples could, in theory, plan to obtain their licenses and take their vows at 12:01 a.m. that day, he said.

As it happens, Weir’s office in Martinez already holds open hours on the second Saturday of each month, so serving couples who want to get hitched as soon as possible won’t be a problem, he said.

Still, an effort is under way to stay the Supreme Court’s decision until voters can decide the issue with an initiative planned for the November ballot. The measure would overrule the justices’ decision and amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

It’s most likely, however, that county clerks will start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on June 17, because the state Supreme Court has until the end of business on June 16 to decide whether to grant a stay of its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

Justices have until the ruling’s effective date to weigh the request, but could give themselves longer to consider it, attorneys have said. Another complicating factor is that the Supreme Court also directed a midlevel appeals court that upheld the state’s one man-one woman marriage laws a year ago to issue a new order legalizing same-sex marriage, and it is not clear when the appeals court will comply.

But as the date nears and couples begin making plans, according to officials, some things are becoming clearer. State officials said Tuesday when new marriage license forms are handed out they will include lines for “Party A” and “Party B” instead of bridge and groom.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.