Another New York town clerk has resigned from her appointment as Marriage Officer rather than perform same-sex marriages. Guilderland, NY town clerk Rosemary Centi submitted a letter of resignation to Town Supervisor Ken Runion, the Times-Union reports:
"This was a personal decision," said Centi of her response to the state's Marriage Equality Law, which takes effect July 24. "I would think everyone who has a personal choice should be allowed to have that personal choice without any kind of backlash."
Runion, however, said as a government official Centi should feel obligated to execute the law, no matter what her personal belief about marriage are.
"We all take oaths to follow the laws of the state and the town and the federal government," said Runion. "Same-sex marriages are permitted under the law and it's our duty to perform them."
Earlier this week, a town clerk from Barker, NY did the same, citing Biblical law as her reason for doing so.
Meanwhile, the NY Times reports, judges from all over the state are signing up to volunteer their time to perform marriages for gays and lesbians on Sunday, July 24, the day the marriage equality law goes into effect:
As one of several dozen judges across the state who have volunteered to play an official role in the new law's first day, Justice Raffaele is part of one of the most unusual judicial mobilizations in years. From Buffalo to the Bronx and pretty much everywhere else in New York, judges are signing up for rare Sunday duty.
If same-sex couples want to marry that Sunday, only judges would have the authority to dispense with the 24-hour waiting period required by law. And those judges could then officiate on the spot.
(image times union)
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