ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (AP) — A magistrate in northeastern North Carolina apparently will not face disciplinary action after refusing to marry two men after the end of the state’s gay marriage ban.
The Daily Advance of Elizabeth City reported that Pasquotank County Magistrate Gary Littleton refused Monday to marry Williams Locklear and Randall Jackson.
Littleton cited his religious views that marriage should be between one man and one woman.
Another magistrate, Lee Custis, married the men Tuesday.
Jackson told the newspaper that he and Locklear do not plan to file a formal complaint against Littleton.
His position conflicts with orders issued by the state Administrative Office of the Courts that all judicial personnel accommodate same-sex couples just as they would heterosexual couples after last week’s ruling by a federal judge striking down the prohibition.
Pasquotank isn’t the only county seeing issues: the group Equality NC says it’s looking into reports that magistrates in Alamance County are refusing to marry same-sex couples as well. Alamance Register of Deeds Hugh Webster says he won’t force his employees to act against their beliefs; as in Pasquotank County, he’ll just have another magistrate do it. It’s not clear, though, whether that means couples seeking marriage might be required to leave and come back later.
UPDATE:
North Carolina magistrates have been directed to perform civil marriages for same-sex couples or face suspension or dismissal from their state jobs.
North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts general counsel Pamela Weaver Best issued a memo Wednesday to state magistrates saying they would be violating their oaths of office if they refuse to marry gay or lesbian couples.
Best said magistrates who refuse to marry gay couples face suspension or dismissal. They could also face misdemeanor criminal charges for failing to discharge their duties.
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