A circuit court judge in Oregon is beginning two weeks of hearings before a state panel as he pushes back against allegations he is unfit to serve on the bench because he will not officiate same-sex weddings.In 2014, Oregon’s definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman was thrown out by court order, and the state refused to appeal the decision. There is no requirement for judges in the state to perform weddings, but some choose to do so. Judge Vance Day informed his staff to politely decline if any same-sex couple requested that he perform their ceremony and refer them to judges who would do the job.
“So nobody was being deprived of the right to have a gay marriage,” said Patrick Korten, media adviser to Judge Day. “He was simply asking that he be excused from that task.”
Later in 2014, Day decided to stop officiating weddings altogether. ...
Rev. Colin Mercer | 11/19/2012
