LEDYARD, NY – Claiming that God has condemned homosexuality as a sin, Ledyard, New York, Town Clerk Rose Marie Belforti has refused to sign marriage licenses for same-sex couples.
According to the New York Times, Belforti is at the heart of an emerging test case, as national advocacy groups look to Ledyard for an answer to how the state balances a religious freedom claim by a local official against a civil rights claim by a same-sex couple.
Belforti is being represented by a Christian legal advocacy group based in Arizona. The Alliance Defense Fund is arguing that state law requires New York to accommodate her religious beliefs.
Belforti has arranged for a deputy to issue all marriage licenses by appointment.
