Ohio high court advises judges not to refuse to perform gay marriages
Source: Yahoo! News / Reuters
CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Judges in Ohio should not refuse to perform same-sex marriages based on personal or religious beliefs, the state's Supreme Court said in an informal, nonbinding opinion released on Monday.
The advisory opinion was issued in response to inquiries from judges and a judicial association seeking guidance, after a number of Ohio judges refused to marry same-sex couple or halted civil marriages altogether.
The opinion cited the June 26 U.S. Supreme Court Obergefell v Hodges ruling that legalized gay marriage nationwide, effectively invalidating Ohio's law prohibiting marriages not between a man and a woman.
"A judge's unilateral decision to refuse to perform same-sex marriages based on his or her own personal, religious, or moral beliefs ignores the holding in Obergefell and thus, directly contravenes the oath of office," it said.
Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/ohio-high-court-advises-judges-not-refuse-perform-233006533.html