Alliance Defense Fund Tells Christian Clerks Not To Issue Marriage Licenses

In what may be a rerun of the battles fought in New York state, the anti-gay Alliance Defense Fund is telling Christian clerks in Maryland, Maine, and Washington that they do not have to issue same-sex marriage licenses if they find that offensive.

Three new legal memos advise municipal clerks in Maine, county clerks in Maryland and county auditors in Washington that provisions in state law allow them to delegate responsibility for issuing the licenses to deputies or assistants who don’t have conscience-based objections to issuing the licenses to same-sex applicants. “No American should be forced to give up a constitutionally protected freedom, nor should any American be forced to give up his or her job to maintain that freedom,” said ADF Senior Counsel Austin R. Nimocks. “Religious freedom is paramount to every American, including those issuing marriage licenses. They can perform their job without violating their conscience.”

As they did in New York, the ADF is offering free legal defense to any clerk that is disciplined for refusing.

RELATED: An attorney for the ADF was arrested this weekend and charged with multiple felony counts related with child pornography.