Gay Marriage is the Law, but There is OneLaw Clerk in a NY100% White County That says "No"
Though New York state's passage of marriage equality for same-sex couples has been hailed across the country andaround the world, there's at least one person who is in a decidedly non-celebratory mood: Barbara MacEwen, town clerk of the rural upstate Volney, NY.
MacEwen has said that she will refuse to sign the marriage licenses of same-sex couples' wedding licenses, Politico reported. The town clerk's signature is required, but MacEwen said she's morally opposed to same-sex couples marrying.
“If there’s any possible way to not do it legally, then yes, I would not want to put my name on any of those certificates or papers,” MacEwen she told Politico. “That’s their life, they can do it, but I don’t feel I should be forced into something that’s against my morals and my God.”
U.S. Census data shows Volney holding steady with a 100 percent white population of around 6,000 since 2000, solidly middle class. Only about 16 percent of the town holds a Bachelor's degree or higher.
MacEwen, a 75-year-old Republican, said she doesn't think any same-sex couples will apply for a marriage license in Volney.
“I don’t know of anybody like that in my town,” she said. “I’m sure that there might be, but I haven’t heard about anybody.”
MacEwen is up for reelection this fall to her fifth four-year term. She told New York's YNN television news affiliate that if she had to choose between signing a marriage license for a same-sex couple and losing her job, she would sign.
By Kase Wickman
Comments