GUILDERLAND, New York, July 15, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Another New York town clerk has resigned from her position as official marriage officer rather than preside over ceremonies for homosexual couples against her conscience.
Rosemary Centi, a Catholic, cited her religious beliefs as the reason for stepping down when the state’s same-sex “marriage” law takes effect on July 24, reported CBS 6 News. But while she will no longer officiate marriages, a task she performed for ten years, Centi will remain a clerk and will issue licenses to both homosexual and heterosexual couples.
Her boss expressed discomfort with her decision as a type of disobedience to state law.
“I was surprised because we all take the oath of civil service and promise to follow the law,” Town Supervisor Ken Runion told the local news service. “Regardless of personal beliefs, same-sex marriage is now legal and we have to follow the law.”
Before Centi announced her resignation, Barker town clerk Laura Fotusky had announced her resignation on Monday, stating on a conservative website: “I cannot put my signature on something that is against God.”
“The Bible clearly teaches that God created marriage between male and female as a divine gift that preserves families and cultures,” she wrote.
Meanwhile, gay rights advocates applauded the new legal force behind “marriage equality” and ridiculed conscientious objection as “being a martyr for bigotry,” in the words of one prominent gay rights blogger.
“It’s hard out there for a bigot,” wrote Kaili Joy Gray on Daily Kos, calling Fotusky a “total f****** bigot” for pointing to the Bible as the basis for her objection.
“Poor, poor Laura Fotusky. Why, she’s just like Job, singled out by God to choose between a paycheck and her deeply held, religion-based hatred of gay people,” wrote Kaili.