Syracuse Judge Refuses to Marry Same-Sex Couple in Courthouse Wedding

Judge refuses to marry same-sex couple – leaves the courtroom without saying a word

 

A Syracuse City Court judge refused to marry a same-sex couple – forcing another judge to step in and perform their courthouse wedding.

 

What happened? 

 

Judge Felicia Pitts Davis was assigned to perform two weddings on Nov. 16, 2024: one opposite-sex marriage and one same-sex marriage. Although Judge Pitts Davis had no problem marrying the opposite-sex couple, she refused to perform the ceremony for two women, Shawntay Davis and Niccora Davis, because of religious beliefs.

 

According to reporters at Syracuse.com, “The couple said they saw a heterosexual couple get married by Pitts Davis that day, but the judge left the courtroom without a word when it was their turn.” (article linked below)

 

About ten minutes later, another city court judge, Judge Mary Anne Doherty, stepped into the courtroom to perform the women’s 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. It was real weird.” Shawntay Davis told Syracuse.com. The couple says they didn’t know what was happening until later.

 

In New York, it’s against the law for a judge to discriminate against a same-sex couple the way Judge Pitts Davis did. According to the American Bar Association, judges can either perform no marriages or all marriages for the public; they can’t only perform opposite-sex marriages, while discriminating against same-sex couples, regardless of their personal beliefs. Because of this violation, the incident has been referred to New York’s State Commission on Judicial Conduct. 

 

Judge Pitts Davis was elected to her position in 2020. According to other news outlets, calls for her to resign have already begun: “If a judge can’t follow the law and do her job as directed by the New York state constitution and the United States Supreme Court, she should step down,” state Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Brad Hoylman-Sigal said Wednesday. (via The New York Post)

 

Get the full scoop in Darian Stevenson’s article for Syracuse.com / The Post-Standard

 

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This isn’t the first time a judge has refused to marry a same-sex couple. 

 

This isn’t the first time a judge has refused to marry a same-sex couple. Consider these two prominent cases in recent years: 

 

In 2019, an elected justice of the peace, Judge Dianne Hensley of McLennan County, Texas, refused to marry same-sex couples, saying that to do so went against her religious beliefs. She stated that she was “recusing herself from officiating at same-sex weddings, in accordance with the commands of her Christian faith.” (via KWTX) Hensley was sanctioned and given a public warning by The State Commission on Judicial Conduct in Texas for discrimination, but Hensley then sued the commission, saying they’d violated her rights. Although she lost twice in court, she continued to appeal, leading to years of ongoing legal arguments. The public warning against her was rescinded in October this year but opinions remain divided.

 

In 2016, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore was suspended without pay for instructing probate judges to deny marriage licenses to gay couples, which violated the US Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. (via NBC News) Moore had already been fired from the Alabama Supreme Court a few years earlier, for installing a monument to the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Alabama Judicial Building and ignoring a federal court order to remove it. Moore finally resigned from the Court for good in 2017. 

 

Other judges simply refuse to marry any couples now that same-sex marriage is legal. Because it violates the judicial standards of ethical conduct for these judges to marry some couples (opposite-sex couples), but not others (same-sex couples), these judges choose not to perform marriages at all. (This allows judges who are against same-sex marriage to comply with the ABA’s Formal Opinion 485, which offers ethical guidelines for judges performing same-sex marriages.)

 

Unfortunately, incidents like these may become more common in the coming years. And there is a growing risk that the US Supreme Court might overturn Obergefell v Hodges, which could make cases like these increasingly muddy.

 

Click the articles linked below to learn more: 

 

• What Wedding Officiants Should Know About Project 2025 & Gay Marriage
• Good News! Voters in Three States Pass Marriage Equality Protections
• The Threat to Same-Sex Marriage in a Post-Roe World
• Marriage Equality Threatened once more, as Two Supreme Court Justices Challenge Obergefell v Hodges

 

 

How can you protect marriage equality in your community? 

What can you do to protect marriage equality? Writing to your legislators, protesting, and sharing information about incidents like the one in Syracuse are all important actions to take, but we believe that your role as an AMM Minister places you in a unique position to do more.
 
We believe that our ministers have the power to be an overwhelming source of love and acceptance in their communities, and to lead by consistent and conscientious example.
 
You can be a daily force for good in the world by being proudly inclusive, by offering marriage services to couples and their families without judgment, by meeting people on their own terms, and by lovingly serving those who might otherwise be discriminated against because of their race, gender, or sexual orientation. 

 

Our commitment to equality insists that we see ourselves in every person we meet, and to meet them with tolerance, acceptance, understanding, and respect. 

 

One simple way to protect marriage equality is to get ordained online with American Marriage Ministries, to be ready to provide welcoming marriage services to people in your community. 

 

Updated December 10th, 2024

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