Anti-gay marriage registrar ordered to resign


AMSTERDAM − Leeuwarden Council is demanding that a marriage registrar who has refused to officiate at gay and lesbian weddings resign her position from January 2005.

The city council previously tried in 2001 to force the resignation of the public servant − who is in principle opposed to gay marriages − but a judge thwarted the move due to a procedural error on the part of the municipal authority.

If the issue comes to a court battle again, the judge will need to make a precedence-setting ruling as to whether a public servant with conscientious objections may refuse to marry a homosexual couple.

The public servant, identified as Nynke Eringa-Boogaardt, has refused to confirm if she will take legal action against the council's decision. She is currently consulting her lawyer.