Suspended magistrate combats ousting over marriage equality

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A Wyoming magistrate who said she would not perform same-sex marriages is pushing to keep her job.

The Casper Star-Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1Yf7Q5m) Pinedale municipal judge and circuit court magistrate Ruth Neely and her attorneys asked the state's high court last week to reject a recommendation for her removal.

Neely told the Wyoming Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics earlier this year that same-sex marriage violates her religious beliefs and she would not perform those ceremonies.

The commission made its recommendation shortly after Neely's statement.

Neely and her attorneys with the religious advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom could not be reached for comment Friday.

They say Neely has not been asked to perform any marriages for same-sex couples.

Neely is suspended from her magistrate role and is not currently performing marriages.

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Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, http://www.trib.com

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
The Gayly 5/7/2016 @ 4:00 p.m.