Governor Cuomo Says While He Understands Religious-Based Opposition To Same-Sex Marriage Questions Of Equality And Anti-Discrimination Are “Legal Matters”

New York Governor Cuomo, who made same-sex marriage a cornerstone of his successful freshman agenda, says officials who cannot or will not comply with the law (like the Broome County clerk who quit rather than sign marriage licenses for LGBT couples) are not cut out for the job, The New Daily News reports. "The law is the law. When you enforce the laws of the state, you don't get to pick and choose which laws," said Cuomo. "You don't get to say, 'I like this law and I'll enforce this law, or I don't like this law and I won't enforce this law' -- you can't do that. So if you can't enforce the law, then you shouldn't be in that position." As previous posted, Barker Town Clerk Laura Fortusky appears to be the first municipal official in New York to resign rather than sign marriage licenses for same-sex couples. “There was no protection provided in the legislation for Town Clerks who are unable to sign these marriage licenses due to personal religious convictions, even though our US Constitution supports freedom of religion,” Fortusky, a Republican who said same-sex marriage conflicts with her religious views, wrote in her resignation letter. Asked Tuesday about protests slated for July 24, the first day the new law takes effect, Cuomo replied that "I understand. We've had this debate. We've talked about it at length for many many years. We had a very heated discussion in Albany before the law was passed. I understand the opposition, and I understand both sides of the argument. And I understand the religious position of the argument. And I understand people who have religious beliefs and their opposition based on religious beliefs. I'm the governor of the state, and this is a legal matter. It's a legal question. To me, it's a question of equality and anti-discrimination. From a legal point of view, I believe this is exactly right and I'm comfortable with it, and that's why I supported it and I advocated. I understand people who say, I have religious beliefs and my religious beliefs trump my legal obligations. I understand that, and that's why the person is resigning," the governor continued. "If you're saying you're going to act through your religious beliefs rather than what is the law of the state, then you can't operate in a position where you're supposed to be enforcing the laws, right? Because the laws would have to be paramount, and would have to be paramount to your religious beliefs. You can't have a system in this state where people enforce the laws that their religions say are OK to enforce, right?"