Lifesite News 14 Dec 2012
In the state of Maine, any notary public who performs marriages may not refuse to perform a same-sex “marriage” for any reason, upon pain of being charged with a human rights violation, according to Maine’s secretary of state. After legalizing same-sex “marriage” in November, Maine in now notifying notaries public who wed heterosexual couples they must provide the same services to homosexuals as of December 29. Secretary of State Charles Summers Jr. made the comment in response to an e-mail query. There are approximately 25,000 notaries public in the state, licensed by the bureau of corporations, elections , and commissions. They may choose not to perform weddings, but they may not wed only heterosexuals, regardless of their religious objections. Under Maine’s human rights ordinance, refusal is considered a human rights violation. This does not violate their religious liberty, according to David Farmer, the spokesman for Mainers United for Marriage, the organization that led efforts to pass the referendum. “They are required to perform their duties as actors of the state,” Farmer told the Bangor Daily News. “They can decide to not do weddings for any reason.”
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/maine-notaries-must-perform-same-sex-marriages-or-violate-human-rights-law
Maine: Notaries must perform same-sex ‘marriages’
