A town clerk in New York could face legal action for
refusing to issue a marriage licence to a lesbian couple and
failing to comply with the state's new marriage equality
law.
Following the marriage equality law passing, Ledyard town
clerk Rose Marie Belforti, sent a letter to the town board,
detailing her decision to not sign marriage licences for same sex
couples.
Belforti cited her Christian beliefs as the reason and
suggested she assign this task to a deputy, reports the
Advocate.
However on August 30, the arrangement faced a problem when
a lesbian couple from Florida applied in person for a marriage
licence.
Katie Carmichael and Deidre Dibiaggio were asked to return
when a deputy was available, despite meeting all legal
requirements.
Arthur Bellinzoni, a friend of the couple told Advocate:
"She told them they would have to schedule an appointment, because
of course the deputy clerk was not there, but she will not do it.
That's illegal."
Over the weekend, People for the American Way and law firm
Proskauer Rose sent a letter to Belforti and town supervisor Mark
Jordan.
The letter demanded that the board direct Belforti to
either perform her job or resign, or else the clerk and the town
could face the possibility of further legal action
Belforti told local media this week she would not be
resigning.
