New York judge refuses to marry same-sex couple 'because of her religious beliefs': report

A civil judge in Syracuse, New York recently refused to officiate a wedding between two women, in an apparent violation of anti-discrimination laws.

That's according to a Wednesday article in the Syracuse Post-Standard, which reported that Judge Felicia Pitts Davis walked out of her chambers on November 16 as soon as a same-sex couple walked in. The couple — 33 year-old Shawntay Davis and 29 year-old Niccora Davis — were left alone in the chambers until another city court judge, Mary Anne Doherty, came in and officiated their wedding.

"The way [Pitts Davis] got up and left the courtroom was rude, then all of a sudden another judge came in, and that’s when we got married,” Shawntay Davis told the Post-Standard. “It was real weird.”

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Pitts Davis had officiated a wedding of a heterosexual couple just prior to the Davises, and reportedly even cried during the ceremony. The Post-Standard cited two unnamed sources who said Pitts Davis told Doherty that she didn't want to marry the two women due to her "religious beliefs."

Syracuse city court spokesperson Al Baker told the paper that the court was "aware of the allegation and have referred the matter to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct." Pitts Davis was elected to her 10-year term in 2020, in the wake of the Black Lives Matter uprising that swept the nation after former Minneapolis Police Department officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd. She told the paper at the time that she recalled watching her mother work until she was almost 90 years old, and grew uo hearing stories about racial discrimination and lynchings.

"As a Black woman, what I’ve always been taught – what I’ve fought for – has relied on the protections of the Constitution, and I had to learn how to make those real," she said.

AlterNet has reached out to Pitts Davis' office for comment, and will update this article in the event of a response.

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Click here to red the Post-Standard's article in its entirety.