RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The chief administrator of North Carolina’s courts says magistrates must perform same-sex marriages regardless of their religious beliefs.
Administrative Office of the Courts Director John W. Smith wrote this week in response to a recent letter from state Senate leader Phil Berger. Berger and other Senate Republicans wanted Smith to revise a memo ordering magistrates to perform civil weddings for gay couples or face losing their jobs.
At least six magistrates have quit rather than perform same-sex marriages, including the Rev. Gilbert Breedlove, who was Swain County magistrate for almost 24 years.
Smith wrote that while he respects their religious convictions, other magistrates see the difference “between marriage as a civil ceremony conferring legal status, and marriage as a religious institution.”
Berger responded Thursday that employees shouldn’t “have to abandon their religious beliefs to save their jobs.”
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