Judge Vance Day has landed in hot water over his refusal to perform same-sex marriages and cited religious beliefs to back the decision. Oregon’s Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability has opened an investigation into Day’s conduct.
Judge Vance Day from Marion County Circuit has refused to perform same-sex marriages despite the fact that a federal court legalized same-sex marriage in Oregon in May 2014, and a U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling did the same the following year.
On Thursday, it was revealed that Judge Vance Day was being investigated by the Oregon Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability because he does not want to perform gay marriages.
Mr. Day, a former chairman of the Oregon Republican Party, took the decision to stop performing marriages in 2014 because he knew the Supreme Court’s ruling was pending and like the rest of the world he had predicted the outcome.
According to spokesman Patrick Korten, Judge Vance Day never said no to any same-sex couple, he only told them to see another judge. Marion County has six judges, who perform gay weddings.
Day, who was appointed in 2011 by former Democratic Governor John Kitzhaber, claimed that he can not follow Christ faithfully and accept to marry two people of the same sex. Korten explained:
“He made a decision nearly a year ago to stop doing weddings altogether, and the principal factor that he weighed was the pressure that one would face to perform a same-sex wedding, which he had a conflict with his religious beliefs.”
Aware that he is in for a lengthy and costly legal battle, Judge Vance Day has obtained the right from the Oregon Government Ethics Commission to create a legal defense fund to pay his attorneys.
Experts predict that Judge Vance Day will lose the fight because few weeks ago Ohio Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Conduct ruled that judges can not refuse to marry same-sex couples on personal, moral or religious grounds.
Many commentators also believe that Kim Davis, the famous or infamous clerk from Rowan County, Kentucky, who has repeatedly denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples will not be victorious.
Jeana Frazzini, co-director of the gay-rights group, Basic Rights Oregon, had the following to say on the Judge Vance Day drama:
“Taking that kind of a step really calls into question how an LGBTQ person could expect to be treated in a court of law. It goes beyond marriage and gets to serious questions about judicial integrity.”
Judge Vance Day’s story has gone viral and some are saying that he has made a personal decision not to support gay marriage, and should be left alone. While others believe that he is biased and is a bigot.
