Judge Vance Day, citing deep religious beliefs, has been refusing to perform same-sex marriages, even though they have been legal in Oregon since May 2014. The Marion County judge has been instructing his staff to refer couples to other judges, according to The Guardian.
"He made a decision nearly a year ago to stop doing weddings altogether, and the principal factor that he weighed was the pressure that one would face to perform a same-sex wedding, which he had a conflict with his religious beliefs," said Patrick Korten, a spokesman for Day.
Day is now the subject of an ethics investigation by the Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability, The Huffington Post reported.
The Oregon Government Ethics Commission granted Day permission to create a legal fund for himself, which is when the investigation came to light. Day believes that he needed funds to cover projected legal expenses. He predicts to incur defending himself during the judicial ethics investigation, said Korten, according to the Statesman Journal.
Jeana Frazzini, co-director of the gay-rights group Basic Rights Oregon, is concerned about the judge's refusal.
"Taking that kind of a step really calls into question how an LGBTQ person could expect to be treated in a court of law," Frazzini said. "It goes beyond marriage and gets to serious questions about judicial integrity."