From Slate-On New Year’s Day, a federal judge ruled that all county clerks in Florida should begin to issue marriage licenses to gay couples starting Jan. 6. This order did not sit well with those clerks whose sincere religious principles require them to hate gay people. But since these clerks have no religious right to refuse same-sex couples marriage licenses, they’ve found a new way to express their antipathy toward gay Floridians. Traditionally, clerks have performed courthouse weddings for couples who request them. Now, rather than risk having to perform such ceremonies for gay couples, a group of Florida clerks have ended courthouse weddings for everyone.
Because these clerks still have a legal duty to grant marriage licenses to gay couples, this move won’t have any serious practical effects. Rather, it’s one final opportunity for anti-gay clerks to degrade same-sex couples—on what should be the happiest day of their lives. Duval County Clerk of Courts Ronnie Fussell, who championed canceling courthouse weddings, told the Florida Times-Union that he believes gay people should be legally forbidden from getting married and that performing a same-sex wedding ceremony “would go against my beliefs.” Accordingly, he decided to end all courthouse weddings for all couples, “so that there wouldn’t be any discrimination.”
More here-
http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2015/01/02/florida_clerks_cancel_all_courthouse_weddings_to_avoid_gay_ceremonies.html
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