Oregon judge hit with ethics probe after refusing to do gay ‘marriages’
An ethics investigation has been launched against an Oregon
judge who ordered his staff to recommend same-sex "marriage" requests
to other judges, even though he isn't required to perform the ceremonies.
On Thursday, Judge Vance Day’s spokesperson, Patrick Korten,
confirmed that Day was being investigated by the Oregon Commission on Judicial
Fitness because of his opposition to redefining marriage. While Day has never
performed a same-sex "marriage" in his four years on the bench, it
was only this past spring that he told his staff to recommend other judges to
same-sex couples that request him to oversee "marriage" ceremonies.
In 2014, Day decided to stop doing weddings at all, except for
one in March of this year that had been previously scheduled, according to
Korten. "He made a decision nearly a year ago to stop doing weddings
altogether, and the principal factor that he weighed was the pressure that one
would face to perform a same-sex wedding, which he had a conflict with his religious
beliefs."
Day, a former chairman of the Oregon Republican Party, does not
perform same-sex ceremonies because of "deeply held religious
beliefs" that "he has a right to...under the United States
Constitution," says Korten.
The ethics probe was made public when the Oregon Government
Ethics Commission gave Day permission to create a legal defense fund to pay
lawyers, reports The Associated Press.
A leading voice for marriage's redefinition in Oregon told The
Associated Press that Day's decision "really calls into question how an
LGBTQ person could expect to be treated in a court of law."
"It goes beyond marriage and gets to serious questions
about judicial integrity," said Jeana Frazzini, co-director of the
homosexual activist group Basic Rights Oregon.
NBC affiliate KGW reports that judges in Day's county are not
required to oversee marriages. There are five active judges, and one retired
judge, who are able to perform ceremonies on request.
