{"id":2376655,"date":"2024-12-05T12:13:01","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T17:13:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ny-judge-who-refused-to-officiate-lesbian-wedding-ceremony-pressured-to-resign-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-12-05T12:14:44","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T17:14:44","slug":"ny-judge-who-refused-to-officiate-lesbian-wedding-ceremony-pressured-to-resign-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ny-judge-who-refused-to-officiate-lesbian-wedding-ceremony-pressured-to-resign-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"NY judge who refused to officiate lesbian wedding ceremony pressured to resign &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fny-judge-who-refused-to-officiate-lesbian-wedding-ceremony-pressured-to-resign-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2376655&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A judge from Syracuse City Court, Felicia \u200cPitts-Davis, is facing scrutiny and calls for resignation after she refused to officiate a \u200csame-sex <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/d-c-mayor-defends-herself-after-blatantly-ignoring-own-mask-mandate\/\" title=\"D.C. Mayor Defends Herself After Blatantly Ignoring Own Mask Mandate\">wedding ceremony<\/a> due to her religious beliefs. On\u2064 November 16, while officiating a\u200b heterosexual wedding, she requested \u200banother judge, \u200cMary Anne \u200cDoherty, to conduct the second wedding for\u200b two\u2063 women. The \u200bNew York Unified Court\u200b system has acknowledged \u200dthe incident and referred it to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, emphasizing that judges should not unlawfully discriminate \u200cwhen performing marriages. The Commission,\u2063 however, did not provide comments due to confidentiality \u200dlaws. The \u2062couple married by \u200dJudge Doherty, Shawntay and Nicorra \u2063Davis, stated they do not \u2063seek repercussions for Pitts-Davis but wish for future same-sex couples to have equal treatment from judges.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">NY judge who refused to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">officiate lesbian wedding ceremony pressured<\/a> to resign<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1903196\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>An upstate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-york\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">New York<\/a> judge is facing calls to step down after choosing not to officiate a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/marriage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">wedding <\/a>ceremony <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/same-sex-marriage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">between two women<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The ceremony in question was held last month when Syracuse City Court Judge Felicia Pitts-Davis was on the bench on Nov. 16 when two weddings were scheduled. The first was between a man and a woman, and the second was between two women. While Pitts-Davis conducted the first wedding, she requested a different judge conduct the second one, telling Judge Mary Anne Doherty she did not want to do the second one due to her religious beliefs, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.syracuse.com\/news\/2024\/12\/syracuse-judge-refuses-to-perform-marriage-for-same-sex-couple-it-was-real-weird.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">according to<\/a> a report.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Unified Court System is aware of the allegations and has referred the matter to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct,&rdquo; New York state&rsquo;s Unified Court System told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> in a statement. &ldquo;Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated by the UCS. Under New York law, Judges are authorized, but not obligated, to perform marriages.&nbsp; Judges who choose to perform marriages may not unlawfully discriminate when deciding which couples they will marry. Judges with questions about the propriety of their proposed conduct in these matters are encouraged to seek guidance from judicial supervisors and the UCS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Upon contacting the state&rsquo;s Commission on Judicial Conduct, the CJC declined to comment, citing &ldquo;a strict confidentiality statute.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> has also contacted Judge Pitts-Davis&rsquo;s office to allow her to tell her side of the story.<\/p>\n<p>The two women who were wedded by Judge Doherty, Shawntay and Nicorra Davis, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnycentral.com\/news\/local\/felicia-pitts-davis-shawntay-davis-niccora-davis-kathy-hochul-same-sex-marriage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">said<\/a> that while they are not interested in any repercussions against Pitts-Davis, they did not want future same-sex couples to be declined by judges in the future.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.ny.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/archive\/assets\/marriageequalitybillmemo.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">The Marriage Equality Act<\/a> became law in New York state in 2011.<\/p>\n<p>Syracuse City Auditor Alexander Marion has called for Pitts-Davis&rsquo;s resignation, adding that the state&rsquo;s Office of Court Administration should &ldquo;promptly suspend her&rdquo; should she choose not to resign.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">My statement on allegations that City Court Judge Felicia Pitts-Davis refused to perform a same-sex wedding. I&rsquo;m calling on her to resign, and if she doesn&rsquo;t, the Office of Court Administration must immediately suspend her from the bench. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uCjhFWSgmO\">pic.twitter.com\/uCjhFWSgmO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Alexander Marion (@alexandermarion) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/alexandermarion\/status\/1864375425855553587?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 4, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) wrote on X that judges &ldquo;cannot pick and choose who deserves a wedding&rdquo; but did not explicitly join Marion in calling for Pitts-Davis&rsquo;s resignation. The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> has reached out to her office for further comment.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Marriage equality is a fundamental right in New York. No one should be subject to hate or discrimination simply because of who they love.<\/p>\n<p>Any judge willing to officiate a wedding in their courtroom cannot pick and choose who deserves a wedding. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Bema6Ubh6W\">https:\/\/t.co\/Bema6Ubh6W<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GovKathyHochul\/status\/1864449619888926856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 4, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>    <\/p>\n<p>Pitts-Davis isn&rsquo;t the first court official to refuse to bind a same-sex couple legally. In 2015, <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/kim-davis-marriage-licenses-rowan-county-b99cdf7b93a1e144fdff2c3b24d96c2c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Kim Davis<\/a>, a clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky, cited religious beliefs for denying marriage licenses to LGBT couples. She served five days in jail and was ordered to pay $260,000 in attorney fees earlier this year. Davis is in the process of appealing that order. <\/p>\n<p>Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, finished a lengthy legal battle over his decision in 2012 not to make a cake for a same-sex couple, citing his religious beliefs. In October, <a href=\"https:\/\/adflegal.org\/press-release\/colorado-supreme-court-dismisses-lawsuit-harassing-cake-artist-jack-phillips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">the Colorado Supreme Court ruled to dismiss the lawsuit brought against Phillips<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1903196\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1903196\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NY judge faces pressure to resign for refusing lesbian wedding<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2632,"featured_media":2376656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Divorce_8733.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[46182,33240,38852,6522,32076],"class_list":["post-2376655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-lesbian-wedding","tag-lgbtq-rights","tag-ny-judge","tag-resignation","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Divorce_8733.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2632"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2376655"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2376659,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376655\/revisions\/2376659"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2376656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2376655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2376655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2376655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}