New York town clerk rejects same-sex marriage license; governor calls for investigation

Joseph Spector | Albany Bureau

Show Caption Hide Caption Same-Sex Marriage Support Lower In US Than Thought According to fivethirtyeight.com, their poll of the week on May 4, 2018, showed that a majority of conservative Republicans oppose same-sex marriage.

ALBANY, N.Y. — A town clerk’s decision to reject a marriage license for a same-sex couple New York's governor to call Wednesday for an investigation.

Dylan Toften of Root, N.Y., wrote Monday on Facebook that Root Town Clerk Laurel “Sherrie” Eriksen would not issue a marriage license to him and his fiancé when they applied last month.

Town attorney Robert Subik confirmed the incident, telling The (Schenectady, N.Y.) Daily Gazette that the license was rejected because the men didn't make an appointment and because of Eriksen's religious beliefs.

"She has a religious objection and has referred the matter to her deputy clerk, who has no such objection and will issue the license when they make an appointment," Subik told the paper in email.

► May 23: Approval of same-sex marriage in U.S. reaches new high, poll shows

► May 22: Gay man loses bid to challenge Ky. clerk who denied same-sex marriages

► July 2017: Taxpayers on hook for clerk Kim Davis' fight against gay marriage

While a deputy clerk can grant a marriage license in New York State, the state's 2011 Marriage Equality Act doesn't allow a clerk to reject a license based on religious beliefs.

The law states:

No application for a marriage license shall be denied on the ground that the parties are of the same, or a different, sex.

The U.S. Supreme Court in its June 26, 2015, Obergefell v. Hodges decision ruled that all states must allow same-sex marriage.

Eriksen recommended the men either come back when the deputy clerk was available to grant the license or go to another municipality, Subik said.

"The clerks are both part-time and don’t man the office Monday through Friday. Of course, the two men are free to go to another jurisdiction to obtain their license.”

► June 2017: Supreme Court upholds same-sex parents' birth certificate rights

► April 2017: Judge won't hear gay adoptions because it's not in child's 'best interest'

The couple went to Cobleskill, about a dozen miles south, and received the license without problem.

Officials in Root, a town of about 1,700 residents about 40 miles northwest of Albany, could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

Since the same-sex marriage law has been in effect in New York, clerks in several instances declined to process marriage licenses because of their religious beliefs. In at least two cases, those clerks resigned.

► June 2016: Mississippi clerks can't deny same-sex marriage licenses, court says|

► May 2016: Gay-marriage victory at Supreme Court triggering backlash

Cuomo, a Democrat seeking his third term as governor, called this most recent incident an "unconscionable act of discrimination that goes against our values as New Yorkers."

"Personally I cannot believe that this could happen anywhere in this country, let alone in the state of New York," he said, indicating that he is directing an investigation to ensure the rejection never happens again.

Cuomo also offered to officiate at the couple's wedding, scheduled for Aug. 18.

"On behalf of all New Yorkers, I would like to congratulate Dylan Toften and his future husband on their marriage," the governor said.

Follow Joseph Spector on Twitter: @GannettAlbany

The denial of a marriage license to a same sex couple yesterday in Montgomery County is an unconscionable act of discrimination that goes against our values as New Yorkers. I am directing an investigation into this incident to ensure that it never happens again. https://t.co/NAX9963vDt — Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) August 1, 2018

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