Free Republic

Incumbent Rose Marie Belforti on Tuesday won re-election as town clerk in Ledyard in a race that divided townspeople and drew national attention over her refusal to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. Belforti, a Republican, defeated Ed Easter, of Aurora, who launched a write-in candidacy some six weeks ago after learning of his opponent’s stance against the state’s recently passed Marriage Equality Act. Belforti’s position polarized residents in this mostly rural town of about 1,900 residents on the east side of Cayuga Lake. The township includes the village of Aurora, home to Wells College. By mid-afternoon nearly...

LEDYARD, NY, September 29, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Another town clerk in New York may lose her job for refusing to sign marriage licenses for same sex couples, the New York Times reports. Fifty-seven-year-old Rose Marie Belforti has been the town clerk in the small rural town of Ledyard, New York for ten years. When the state of New York legalized homosexual “marriage” this past summer, Belforti decided that she could not reconcile signing same-sex marriage licenses with her Christian faith. Instead, she decided to delegate the task to a deputy, who would issue such licenses by appointment. Now, a lesbian...