Christian Clerks Face Same-Sex License Showdown

NEW YORK, USA (Worthy News)– Although a memo circulated by the Alliance Defense Fund assured scrupulous New York State license clerks that they can delegate the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses to another clerk, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice disagreed.

“The law affords no discretion to public officials charged with granting marriage licenses,” she said. “Therefore, any such refusal may be subject to criminal prosecution.”

The ADF memo was circulated in response to Rice and other NY state officials who threatened to charge clerks who decline to issue same sex marriage licenses with a criminal offense, thereby forcing clerks to choose between their career and their faith.

“You don’t get to say, ‘I like this law and I’ll enforce this law,’ or ‘I don’t like this law and I won’t enforce this law,” said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo after signing same-sex marriage into law. “You can’t do that; so if you can’t enforce the law, then you shouldn’t be in that position.”