Quote Of The Day - Kathleen Rice

"Recently, a local clerk in upstate New York made headlines when she said she would not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Marriage Equality Act provides that an application for a marriage license cannot be denied on the grounds that the applicant parties are of the same sex and the law affords no discretion to public officials charged with granting marriage licenses. Therefore, any such refusal may be subject to criminal prosecution.

"The religious exemptions in the Marriage Equality Act are inapplicable to town and city clerks serving in their license-granting roles, and a public official’s intentional refusal to issue marriage licenses to qualified same-sex couples may constitute Official Misconduct, a Class A misdemeanor defined in section 195.00 of the New York State Penal Law." - Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, in a letter sent to town and city clerks in her jurisdiction.