NEWS

Can Ohio judges refuse to marry gay couples?

Jessie Balmert and Kristina Smith
Gannett Ohio

COLUMBUS – Some Ohio judges say they don’t have to officiate same-sex weddings, or any weddings for that matter.

Gavel and a law book - Rainbow flag

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that marriage is a fundamental right for all Americans regardless of their sexual orientation. But judges from Mansfield to Chillicothe are not performing same-sex marriages, or in some cases, any marriages.

Toledo Municipal Court Judge C. Allen McConnell refused to marry a same-sex couple earlier this month, saying he declined because of “his personal and Christian beliefs established over many years.” He planned to continue “traditional marriages,” but the presiding judge took over all marriage ceremonies.

Gay marriage advocates say judges refusing to wed couples to avoid same-sex ceremonies are “petty” and “childish,” said Grant Stancliff, spokesman for Equality Ohio.

“I can’t think of many jobs where there’s something in your job description that you can opt not to do,” Stancliff said.

Ottawa County Probate Court has had one same-sex couple apply for a marriage license. Time constraints have limited Probate Judge Kathleen Giesler from performing marriages outside of family and personal friends, Court Administrator Lori Clune said.

“However, she isn’t opposed to performing same-sex marriages,” Clune said.

Port Clinton Mayor Vince Leone said he has mostly stopped performing marriages because he is busy with city projects but said he would marry same-sex couples.

“Do I discriminate? Absolutely not,” Leone said. “We’re all human beings. We deserve to be treated the same.”

McConnell has asked the Ohio Supreme Court’s board of professional conduct to clarify if he must perform marriages for gay couples. Athens County Municipal Court Judge William Grim, as president of the Association of Municipal and County Judges of Ohio, is also seeking guidance on whether judges can refuse to perform marriages for any couples.

“Is there a duty to perform marriage ceremonies, is it a personal duty of every authorized judge or is it the duty of the presiding judge in each court to insure the court provides this service?” Grim asked the board.

Attorneys with the board of professional conduct are researching those questions and could announce their answers as early as next week, director Richard Dove said. State law says judges, licensed ministers, mayors, superintendent for the state school for the deaf and religious societies may officiate wedding ceremonies. No prior ethics board decision has clarified whether judges must perform same-sex ceremonies, Dove said.

Ethics panels in four other states already have weighed in: judges can’t refuse to perform same-sex marriages and continue marrying heterosexual couples. However, in Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Nebraska, judges were able to abstain from marrying anyone. In Arizona, judges also could choose to marry only friends and relatives.