https://www.newyorkupstate.com/news/2024/12/governor-mayor-critical-of-syracuse-judge-who-refused-to-marry-same-sex-couple.html

Another person who takes a job requiring that they serve LGBTQ+ people equally with straight people who think their religious beliefs should exempt them from the rules everyone else in the job must follow.  Because you know fundamentalist Christians are special … right?  Look if you don’t want to do the job because of your religious beliefs find a different job.  Seriously what you believe doesn’t make you special or allow you to violate your job protocols.   Just as you can’t refuse to serve black people at the lunch counter or refuse to marry mixed race people, you have to follow the laws in your state.  Plus I don’t understand the hate.  Christians don’t own marriage.  Marriage is not a religious ceremony alone.  This is even a civil setting.  Plus no church or religious figure can marry anyone legally without state permission.  It is a civil right, not a religious one.   Hugs

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Syracuse, N.Y. — State and local officials are criticizing a Syracuse judge who refused to marry a same-sex couple.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh issued statements after a Syracuse.com | Post Standard article revealed that City Court Judge Felicia Pitts Davis refused to officiate a wedding of two women.

The article reported that on Nov. 16 Pitts-Davis declined to marry the couple on the same day she married a heterosexual couple. The judge cited her religious beliefs as the reason she would not perform the marriage, two sources told Syracuse.com.

Another city court judge, Mary Anne Doherty, came into court to officiate the women’s marriage.

 

Related article: Syracuse judge refuses to perform marriage for same-sex couple: ‘It was real weird’

Hochul said on X that marriage equality is a fundamental right in New York. She said judges do not get to pick and choose who they will and won’t marry.

 

“No one should be subject to hate or discrimination simply because of who they love. Any judge willing to officiate a wedding in their courtroom cannot pick and choose who deserves a wedding,” Hochul said in a post on X.

The governor linked to the Syracuse.com article.

 

Mayor Ben Walsh said Syracuse is a growing city that embraces diversity and creates opportunity for all.

“Judge Pitts-Davis’ refusal to perform a wedding ceremony for a same-sex couple doesn’t align with this vision and, importantly, doesn’t comply with state law,” the mayor said in a statement.

 

The mayor called on the state Commission on Judicial Conduct to review the matter “expeditiously.”

Onondaga County Democratic Chairperson Max Ruckdeschel said in a statement that the judge’s behavior is contrary to the values of the Democratic Party and that the judge should resign.

 

“It is the role of every judge to provide equal justice under the law to every American, no matter their race, creed, or sexual orientation,” Ruckdeschel said. “A judge literally turning her back on two people looking to be married is an outrage and Judge Pitts Davis should face repercussions for her actions.”

The Democratic Party committee had previously declined to endorse Pitts Davis for city court judge, according to Ruckdeschel. And her refusing to fulfill her judicial oath “disqualifies her from any future consideration for our endorsement,” he said.

 

Pitts Davis won a primary to run on the Democratic line in the general election and was elected to office in 2020.

The Syracuse Republican Committee issued a statement Thursday calling for Pitts Davis to resign or be removed.

 

“Judge Davis’ refusal to perform a same-sex marriage is not only inexcusable and reprehensible, but is ground for immediate removal from the bench,” the statement said. “If Judge Davis has any shred of integrity or respect for the law and the people of the city of Syracuse, she should step down.”

If Pitts Davis doesn’t step down, the state Office of Court Administration should swiftly remove her from the bench “before any further damage can be done to our sacred judicial system,” the statement said.

 

CNY Pride, a local LGBTQ+ advocacy group, and City Auditor Alexander Marion put out statements Wednesday calling for Pitts Davis to resign.

CNY Pride said her actions were a “disgrace” to her position as an elected judge. They also called for a “full ethical investigation” into Pitts-Davis’ conduct since she took the bench in 2020.

 

“Judge Pitts Davis’s refusal to marry same-sex citizens of Syracuse and Onondaga County is despicable and contrary to her judicial oath,” CNY Pride said in the statement.

Marion, an LGBTQ+ elected citywide official in Syracuse government, is also calling for Pitts Davis to resign. He put out a statement saying the judge should quit or be suspended by the state Office of Court Administration.

 

Saying he was “deeply disturbed” by the Syracuse.com article, Marion said Pitts Davis was violating judicial guidelines that guard against discrimination.

State Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Brad Hoylman-Sigal also called on Pitts Davis to resign.

 

“If a judge can’t follow the law and do her job as directed by the New York state constitution and the United States Supreme Court, she should step down,” the senator told the New York Post. “I find it appalling that someone who professes to work on behalf of the public takes a piecemeal approach to their responsibility.”

Davis for nearly two weeks has not responded to repeated inquiries from Syracuse.com.

 

Under state law, judges may not unlawfully discriminate by officiating a marriage for a male-female couple, but refuse to do the same for a same-sex couple, according to a state court spokesperson, Al Baker.

The state court system is aware of the allegation and referred the matter to a state disciplinary commission, Baker told Syracuse.com.

 

For nearly two weeks, local and state court officials would not answer questions from Syracuse.com about what happened in court that day. They would not even acknowledge that any weddings happened in court that day.

On Tuesday, Baker responded with a one-sentence email: “We are aware of the allegation and have referred the matter to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.” He again did not respond to questions about that statement.

 

Earlier, Baker emailed to Syracuse.com the judicial standard Pitts Davis appears to have violated but would not confirm she had refused to marry the same sex couple or that another judge had to step in:

“Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated by the UCS. Under New York Law, Judges are authorized, but not obligated, to perform marriages. Judges who choose to perform marriages may not unlawfully discriminate when deciding which couples they will marry.”

 

In 2011, the Marriage Equality Act was passed in the state of New York, granting same-sex couples the ability to enter into civil marriages. The act declared that marriage is a fundamental human right. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples.

Shawntay Davis, 33, and Niccora Davis, 29, on Tuesday confirmed to Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard they were the same-sex couple ditched by Pitts Davis and instead married by Doherty on Nov. 16.

 

 

 

Editor’s note: This article updated on Thursday with a statement by the Syracuse Republican Committee.

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Stories on Felicia Pitts Davis

• DA wants Syracuse judge barred from hearing criminal cases after she refuses same-sex marriage
• Hold Syracuse judge accountable for bigotry against LGBTQ+ community (Your Letters)
• CNY Pride: Syracuse judge’s refusal to marry same-sex couple ‘despicable,’ calls for her resignation
• City auditor says Syracuse judge should resign if she won’t do same-sex weddings
• Syracuse judge refuses to perform marriage for same-sex couple: ‘It was real weird’

 

 

 

Staff writer Darian Stevenson covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at dstevenson@syracuse.com