Deirdre DiBiaggio, left, and Katie Carmichael argue that state law requires all clerks to give marriage licenses to gay couples.
Posted on 09/28/2011 2:45:23 AM PDT by markomalley
Rose Marie Belforti is a 57-year-old cheese maker, the elected town clerk in this sprawling Finger Lakes farming community and a self-described Bible-believing Christian. She believes that God has condemned homosexuality as a sin, so she does not want to sign same-sex marriage licenses; instead, she has arranged for a deputy to issue all marriage licenses by appointment.
But when a lesbian couple who own a farm near here showed up at the town hall last month, the women said they were unwilling to wait.
Now Ms. Belforti is at the heart of an emerging test case, as national advocacy groups look to Ledyard for an answer to how the state balances a religious freedom claim by a local official against a civil rights claim by a same-sex couple.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Go ahead and sign off—it’s like carrying Monopoly money in your wallet anyway—it just ain’t real.
The DOMA is still the law of the land and when a conservative is in the WH,the DOJ will do it’s duty and uphold it—so the homosexuals are just playing house.
queers bullying for more lawsuits
Not to mention, that when you’re working for a secular organization like the government, you are required to fulfill your secular duties, like signing whatever documentations you don’t care to sign.
If not, you have every right to live as you wish, elsewhere.
Did you forget this from earlier in the year? Obama administration will no longer defend DOMA.
Clever way to get rid of the observant Christians in government,isn’t it?
Their plan all along.
I’m not in favor of gay marriage either, but if gay marriage is legal, and her duty is to sign this document, then she should either sign it, or resign.
Or stand up for what she believes and make them fire her.
This is a contrived lawsuit: the clerk didn’t refuse , the couple ‘didn’t want to wait’. Therefore , there was a legal accomodation to protect the rights of the gay couple , as well as the clerk.
Deirdre DiBiaggio, left, and Katie Carmichael argue that state law requires all clerks to give marriage licenses to gay couples.
Exactly so !! ~Clever way to get rid of the observant Christians in government,isn’t it?
Their plan all along.
I suppose she could, and I suppose they will.
Of course. It’s all about trying to shape society they way they want without regard for the consequences of doing so.
That’s also the Dems allowed gays to openly serve in the military, to destroy the tendency for the military to vote Republican as much as possible. Who cares about military readiness.
Do not give them another excuse to draw attention to their perversion.
Treat them just like any other government form, that will piss them off more than anything.
It’s not up to a civil servant to determine which laws she will follow, repulsive as the associated action’s request may be. I believe the saying is “I don’t pay you to think.” If conscience dictates she can’t perform a duty, she should resign.
This situation is quite different than a priest refusing to give the sacrament or a doctor in a Catholic or other religious hospital refusing to commit an abortion. Throughout history individuals have payed far greater prices for maintaining their convictions.
A solution might, if this were an elected position, for her to resign and then run again with her beliefs in full view. If she were to be re-elected with support of the population, she would be able to claim she represents the will of the voters.
Would be helpful if the story told the actual amount of time that the signature would be delayed waiting for an appointment with the deputy clerk.
I expect the time was minimal, hence it was purposel;y omitted by the Times.
Didn't Narcissus fall in love with his own reflection in the water?
Well, she did refuse, and there's no getting around that. Second, I'm not sure how this protects the rights of the gay couple. If another coupple, heterosexual, were to walk in and had the document signed, while the gay couple was waiting, would you consider that equal treatment under the law.
That said, How far does ths priciple extend. If signing or stamping the document is equivalent to moral acceptance, then what about the office itself. How does she morally distance herself from that.
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