Several counties in Florida have put the kibosh on performing any weddings as a sort of duck and dodge against serving gays — the logic being that clerks with religious objections to homosexual marriage aren’t breaking any laws if they don’t offer services to anyone.
Among the counties taking part in the quasi-protest: Duval, Clay and Baker, The Associated Press reported.
Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage expires in the coming days, but rather than abide by the new cultural order, clerks — in conjunction with other county officials — have announced the discontinuance of courthouse wedding services for all, AP said.
“It was decided as a team, as an office, this would be what we do so that there wouldn’t be any discrimination,” Duval County Clerk of Courts Ronnie Fussell told The Florida Times-Union. “The easiest way is to not do them at all.”
He also said that marriage “is between a man and a woman” and that “personally, it would go against my beliefs to perform a ceremony that is other than that,” AP reported.
Equality Florida co-founder Nadine Smith, however, said the clerks’ move was a total surprise.
“I think it would be outrageous for clerks to change the rules simply because gay couples are getting married,” she said, AP reported.
Contact the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.