Funny Regulation of the Day: “Foreign Service officers are forbidden to celebrate marriages”

According to State Department rules, “Foreign Service officers are forbidden to celebrate marriages.”

But the rule is being repealed as of Oct. 29. Is this reform an effort to encourage consular officers to marry? To encourage them to drink and dance at wedding receptions?

Unfortunately, no. The original purpose of the rule was just to clarify that consular officers lack the legal authority to perform marriages for U.S. citizens abroad. But the rule is being repealed because it’s “outdated and duplicative.”