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Judge Who Declined to Perform Lesbian Wedding Must Resign, Says Gay Advocate
Aletelia ^ | July 11, 2015 | JOHN BURGER

Posted on 07/10/2015 2:59:29 PM PDT by NYer

It's a judge's duty to preside at the marriages of any couple that comes to him—heterosexual or homosexual—and if he is unwilling to do so, he "needs to step down.”


That is the view of the  executive director of the LGBT rights group Equality ToledoNick Komives, reacting to news of a Toledo, Ohio, judge who excused himself from the civil marriage ceremony of two lesbians. 

“They didn’t deserve to be humiliated; they didn’t deserve to be inconvenienced,” Komives told the Toledo Blade. “That’s just wrong, and we won’t tolerate it. It is his duty to perform this ceremony, and if he’s not willing to perform his duties, he needs to step down.”

Judge C. Allen McConnell declined to officiate at the wedding of two women Monday. He has apologized to the couple for a 45-minute delay, explaining that his “personal and Christian beliefs” compelled him to ask that another judge step in. McConnell said he was waiting for guidance from the Ohio Supreme Court on whether he may be excused from a rotation of judges handling matrimonial duties at Toledo Municipal Court, but was willing to “continue to perform traditional marriages,” according to the Daily Signal.

McConnell is far from alone in finding himself in a dilemma now that the Supreme Court has ordered all 50 states to allow same-sex "marriage." A county clerk in Kentucky said that nearly half of the county clerks in the state have asked Gov. Steve Beshear to call a special session of the legislature to address the issue of marriage licenses in the wake of the Obergefell decision, WSAZ3 reported July 8:

Lawrence County Clerk Chris Jobe says a letter sent Wednesday by 57 clerks to Beshear explains that they face a conflict between their religious beliefs and job duties following the U.S. Supreme Court's June 26 ruling. 

On Tuesday, House  Speaker Greg Stumbo asked Beshear to call lawmakers back into session over the issue. But Beshear said there was no need for lawmakers to consider an issue the Supreme Court has settled. 

The American Civil Liberties Union has sued Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis after she refused marriage licenses to two gay couples and two straight couples.
 
In Tennessee, three officers in the Decatur County Clerk's Office resigned from their positions because of their opposition to the high court's June 26 decision.

According to Decatur County Commissioner David Boroughs, County Clerk Gwen Pope and employees Sharon Bell and Mickey Butler have all resigned because of religious opposition to the ruling, The Jackson Sun reported July 1. 

"That's a personal individual decision, but I strongly support them if their faith is that strong," Boroughs said. "I'm proud of them that their faith is so strong and well-rounded that they feel they can do that."

There is no reason why such judges or clerks should have to resign, Ken Connelly, legal counsel for the group Alliance Defending Freedom, told Catholic News Agency. Connelly said clerks could cite First Amendment protections of the free exercise of religion and of speech. And every state’s Constitution must contain protections similar to those in the First Amendment.

 
It's a judge's duty to preside at the marriages of any couple that comes to him—heterosexual or homosexual—and if he is unwilling to do so, he "needs to step down.”

That is the view of the  executive director of the LGBT rights group Equality ToledoNick Komives, reacting to news of a Toledo, Ohio, judge who excused himself from the civil marriage ceremony of two lesbians. 

“They didn’t deserve to be humiliated; they didn’t deserve to be inconvenienced,” Komives told the Toledo Blade. “That’s just wrong, and we won’t tolerate it. It is his duty to perform this ceremony, and if he’s not willing to perform his duties, he needs to step down.”

Judge C. Allen McConnell declined to officiate at the wedding of two women Monday. He has apologized to the couple for a 45-minute delay, explaining that his “personal and Christian beliefs” compelled him to ask that another judge step in. McConnell said he was waiting for guidance from the Ohio Supreme Court on whether he may be excused from a rotation of judges handling matrimonial duties at Toledo Municipal Court, but was willing to “continue to perform traditional marriages,” according to the Daily Signal.

McConnell is far from alone in finding himself in a dilemma now that the Supreme Court has ordered all 50 states to allow same-sex "marriage." A county clerk in Kentucky said that nearly half of the county clerks in the state have asked Gov. Steve Beshear to call a special session of the legislature to address the issue of marriage licenses in the wake of the Obergefell decision, WSAZ3 reported July 8:

Lawrence County Clerk Chris Jobe says a letter sent Wednesday by 57 clerks to Beshear explains that they face a conflict between their religious beliefs and job duties following the U.S. Supreme Court's June 26 ruling. 

On Tuesday, House  Speaker Greg Stumbo asked Beshear to call lawmakers back into session over the issue. But Beshear said there was no need for lawmakers to consider an issue the Supreme Court has settled. 

The American Civil Liberties Union has sued Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis after she refused marriage licenses to two gay couples and two straight couples.
 
In Tennessee, three officers in the Decatur County Clerk's Office resigned from their positions because of their opposition to the high court's June 26 decision.

According to Decatur County Commissioner David Boroughs, County Clerk Gwen Pope and employees Sharon Bell and Mickey Butler have all resigned because of religious opposition to the ruling, The Jackson Sun reported July 1. 

"That's a personal individual decision, but I strongly support them if their faith is that strong," Boroughs said. "I'm proud of them that their faith is so strong and well-rounded that they feel they can do that."

There is no reason why such judges or clerks should have to resign, Ken Connelly, legal counsel for the group Alliance Defending Freedom, told Catholic News Agency. Connelly said clerks could cite First Amendment protections of the free exercise of religion and of speech. And every state’s Constitution must contain protections similar to those in the First Amendment.

 


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aletelia; glbt; homosexualagenda; johnburger; judge; marriage
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Rush Limbaugh addressed this issue earlier in the week.

t doesn't matter what you think.  If it disagrees with us, you're finished.  They make it plain in all of these very public efforts they make of destroying people.  The new totalitarian is terrifying because it means that for a fair number of people in what's supposed to be a democracy, winning simply isn't enough.  They are not really trying to capture something as pedestrian as political equality nor are they satisfied that if they get it. They're not really seeking a win in the courts or a legal solution.  Those are all just merit badges to be collected along the way to a more important goal and that is you will agree and you will love them and you will believe them and you will support them and you will recant your dissent.  And we're going to keep pounding you until you do, and that is what is happening.  
Must Read: The New Totalitarians

And again,

It doesn't matter that the couple found a way to get married. It doesn't matter the judge's refusal to marry them did not result in them not being able to get married. They were able to get married. Another judge came along and did it, this guy is going to be destroyed. The left will not quit until this guy is targeted and Alinsky'd out of the office. Just as we said yesterday: It's not enough that the judge here in this case lose. He must learn to love gay marriage, and he must learn to support it. Otherwise, he's finished.
African-American Judge Targeted for Destruction After Refusing to Marry Two Women

1 posted on 07/10/2015 2:59:29 PM PDT by NYer
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To: Tax-chick; GregB; SumProVita; narses; bboop; SevenofNine; Ronaldus Magnus; tiki; Salvation; ...

FYI, ping!


2 posted on 07/10/2015 2:59:48 PM PDT by NYer (Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy them. Mt 6:19)
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To: NYer

Go to hell, Komives.


3 posted on 07/10/2015 3:02:35 PM PDT by Irenic (The pencil sharpener and Elmer's glue is put away-- we've lost the red wheelbarrow)
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To: NYer

Tell the gay to shove it.


4 posted on 07/10/2015 3:02:56 PM PDT by mulligan (I)
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To: NYer
Shouldn't resign.
Per SCOTUS in Obergefell vs. Hodges -
Opinion of the Court
Finally, it must be emphasized that religions, and those who adhere to religious doctrines, may continue to advocate with utmost, sincere conviction that, by divine precepts, same-sex marriage should not be condoned.


5 posted on 07/10/2015 3:05:47 PM PDT by stylin19a (obama = Fredo Smart)
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To: NYer

I thought that the USSC ruling only required that states issue marriage licenses, not that every official MUST marry anyone who demands it.

Maybe that interpretation is wrong, but far more wrong is to compel any existing employee to perform duties that are morally repugnant to them, which duties were NEVER mentioned when they applied for (or were appointed to) their job. PERHAPS for new employees and appointees, if they sign a contract that specifically includes doing something that they otherwise wouldn’t, then they wouldn’t have a leg to stand on...but as things are now, I think that all existing government employees should get off the hook, just on that basis.

Which, of course, doesn’t even begin to touch the issue of the free exercise of religion, which is clearly being attacked here and which, if the judge in question loses his job, can only come as a result of government action.


6 posted on 07/10/2015 3:07:17 PM PDT by Ancesthntr ("The right to buy weapons is the right to be free." A. E. van Vogt)
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To: stylin19a

I fear that that dicta will be limited in practice entirely to protecting only advocacy — and not activity.


7 posted on 07/10/2015 3:09:01 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: BenLurkin

yikes...I’m allowed to have convictions but can’t act or not act upon them ?

just shoot me.


8 posted on 07/10/2015 3:11:53 PM PDT by stylin19a (obama = Fredo Smart)
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To: mulligan

“Tell the gay to shove it.”

Ohhh, I dunno. . .they would like that.


9 posted on 07/10/2015 3:15:04 PM PDT by Hulka
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To: mulligan

He might take you up on that...


10 posted on 07/10/2015 3:16:19 PM PDT by gov_bean_ counter
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To: NYer

I think the Advocate should resign from being gay.


11 posted on 07/10/2015 3:16:25 PM PDT by Paladin2 (Ive given up on aphostrophys and spell chek on my current device...)
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To: stylin19a
I’m allowed to have convictions but can’t act or not act upon them ?

Exactly. That is exactly where this is headed. If it isn't there already.

12 posted on 07/10/2015 3:16:26 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: Hulka

One second. One stinking second. :)


13 posted on 07/10/2015 3:17:50 PM PDT by gov_bean_ counter
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To: mulligan

How a minority, reaching majority, seizing authority, hates the minority.

And it ain’t gonna get better, buttercup.


14 posted on 07/10/2015 3:17:57 PM PDT by alloysteel (If Stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out? - Will Rogers.)
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To: All

This is surprising!

(In its mildness)

Most of the homo activists that I read are calling for imprisoning and/or execution of the “Monsters” who refuse to fully embrace their desires.


15 posted on 07/10/2015 3:22:02 PM PDT by LegendHasIt
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To: gov_bean_ counter

LOL. . .

;-)


16 posted on 07/10/2015 3:23:41 PM PDT by Hulka
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To: NYer

There needs to be a 1A freedom of religion lawsuit against the Obergefell ruling regarding forcing particular individuals to uphold it against their faith.


17 posted on 07/10/2015 3:25:40 PM PDT by Talisker (One who commands, must obey.)
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To: NYer

Up yours, Nick Komives.


18 posted on 07/10/2015 3:26:12 PM PDT by sauropod (I am His and He is mine.)
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To: NYer

Hmmmm. Isn’t the government promoting Satanism on this person????? I would NOT QUIT and I would STATE I am NOT practicing SATANISM!!!!

The government can NOT force a Religion on us-—and forcing the glorification of the irrational vice of sodomy on others-—is the promotion of the Worship of Ba’al, which equates Life to Excrement to specifically mock the Judeo-Christian God.

A true Justice system can NEVER promote Vice and sodomizing others is always a vice-—an irrational, unnatural dehumanizing use of the human body which removes purpose and meaning from the sex act.


19 posted on 07/10/2015 3:28:32 PM PDT by savagesusie (Right Reason According to Nature = Just Law)
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To: NYer
Gotta stand up to and get in the face of the vicious, intolerant, judgmental homosexual bullies at every opportunity. We should also stop using "gay" or "lesbian" to describe the members of the Left's sex-based secular religious cult.

"Homosexual" or even "giblets" (for the cult's GBLTs acronym) are the more descriptive (and accurate) terms to use (and those words anger all the "right" people -- the emotion-based bulllies of the cult!)

20 posted on 07/10/2015 3:32:56 PM PDT by glennaro
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