Comments on: The Alliance Defense Fund and Special Rights

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 22:51:33 +0000

As a California attorney, I am not aware of any authority that would allow a “reasonable accomodation” statute to be used to discriminate. Typically, the reasonable accomodation statutes are used to ensure that employers take reasonable steps to allow employees to practice their religious beliefs. It is unlikely, however, that a reasonable accomodation statute would be interpreted to allow the employees with a particular religious belief to discriminate against another group under the guise of “reasonable accomodation”.

By: John

John — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:54:45 +0000

Is this law speaking to private employers or/and public employers, ie the state and municipalities of New York?

By: Adam

Adam — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 02:33:04 +0000

The clerks need to realize no one really cares if they personally approve or disapprove of a couple’s relationship and pending marriage. Their signature does not indicate their personal approval; it just signifies that all legal requirements set forth by the State have been met.

Using ADF’s “logic”, a clerk in the DMV office could refuse to issue a car license if she suspected the vehicle was owned by a same-sex couple. Using their “logic”, NY could easily wind up with segregated “Separate, but Equal” Town Clerks’ offices…

And in those ‘good ole days’, Equal never existed….

By: B John

B John — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 22:22:57 +0000

Read the passage of the law he cites. This is about accomodating religious observances. It means trying to make reasonable accomodation for Muslims to be able to pray at their prescribed times (if possible). For Christians to observe their Sabbath, or have Christmas Day off.

And it refers to “reasonable accomodation.” You can’t give the entire Police and Fire Departments Christmas Day off, so some of those Christians have to work that day…that’s not unreasonable. It’s also not unreasonable to expect that when I walk into a government office, I will receive the same services and considerations as anyone else. It is not a reasonable accomodation for the Clerks to be able to pick and choose who they will serve.

If I believe the Bible is against inter-racial marriages, as a town clerk, should I be accomodated and allowed to not issue licenses to inter-racial couples? We know the answer to that, and so does the Alliance Defense fund, but if they say it enough, and have enough people saying it, it becomes the truth.

By: MattNYC

MattNYC — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 20:50:53 +0000

A Clerk’s job is to apply the law–not interpret it. If they cannot do something that is a job requirement–issuing licenses–then they should be replaced. A vegan Clerk must issue a hunting license to a legally qualified person. A Muslim Clerk must issue a liquor license to a legally qualified business/individual. A Catholic Clerk must issue a marriage license to a 5-time-divorced (both) couple with or without proof that the Church has annulled their former marriages. Need I go on?

If any of these persons–under Oath to the State Constitution to uphold the laws of the State and to act on behalf of the State–cannot perform a part of their job, then they need to be permanently relieved of that job and replaced with someone who won’t be playing “armchair Supreme Court Justice.”

By: Gus

Gus — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:42:05 +0000

hear

By: Gus

Gus — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:41:31 +0000

Tony: I can imagine a county where you could not find one clerk out of many who would file the paperwork. To this day, when we visit my partner’s family a few counties away you here the refrain: “That’s not how we do it here,” regarding many state EPA and other laws. Marriage would be a problem in that more Christianist county.

By: Rob Tisinai

Rob Tisinai — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:38:27 +0000

Thanks, Trig! I’ll make the correction.

By: Timothy (TRiG)

Timothy (TRiG) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:24:59 +0000

As an ex-Witness, I was intregued by the mention of a JW “Sabbath Day”, so I checked the link. It says, Mary Myers is a practicing Seventh Day Adventist. Now, the Witnesses did, in a sense, grow out of the Seventh Day Adventist movement. The histories of the religions are to a certain extent intertwined, but modern Witnesses and Adventists have little to do with each other. There are major differences between the religions, in both belief and practice.

I suspect that Mary Myers would not be glad to be called one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

TRiG.

By: Tony

Tony — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:12:53 +0000

Do they actually think it’s reasonable for me to go from clerk to clerk until I find one that’s gay-friendly? What if you’re in a city that doesn’t have one? Religious beliefs don’t trump everything else. I think that’s the real underlying issue here. People think that if they say “it’s what I believe” that it’s a get out of jail free card to say and do whatever you want.