State pays 300k to magistrate who refused to marry gays

A magistrate in the state refused to legally marry a same-sex couple who were together for about 30 years. For North Carolina State, 20were notable years. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina is paying a $, legal settlement to a former magistrate who resigned under duress because she said her religious beliefs prevented her from marrying gay couples.

Top Stories: Pentagon press rules L. Solve the daily Crossword 23, people played the daily Crossword recently. Gayle Myrick was a Union County magistrate who resigned in after federal courts made gay marriage legal in North Carolina.

State Pays 300K to

A challenge to that law was rejected by a federal appeals court last year. Can you solve it faster than others? A spokeswoman for the North Carolina Justice Department, which represented the state, declined to comment Wednesday. Current North Carolina magistrates don't face the same dilemma as Myrick because state lawmakers enacted a law in allowing magistrates to decline to perform same-sex marriages by citing religious beliefs.

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The settlement finalized in late January and made public Wednesday includes about $, in lost pay and retirement benefits, in addition to attorneys’ fees. Gayle Myrick was a Union County magistrate who resigned in after federal courts made gay marriage legal in North Carolina.

Follow Drew on Twitter at www. The local judge who oversaw her said the state guidelines didn't allow such flexibility and accepted her resignation, according to legal documents filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

An administrative law judge working on behalf of the commission ruled last year that Myrick's employer failed to accommodate her religious beliefs as required under federal employment law. Play on Yahoo. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina is paying a $, legal settlement to a former magistrate who resigned under duress because she said her religious beliefs prevented her from marrying gay.

In Myrick's case, lawyers for the state appealed the administrative judge's ruling to a higher EEOC office, but later chose to settle without admitting fault, according to a copy of the agreement. Sign out. Myrick issued a statement Wednesday that she believes the case could have been resolved within her office if she'd been allowed a schedule change to let her avoid performing marriages.

Return to Homepage. State court officials then issued guidelines that local magistrates who perform marriages should comply with the federal ruling. After preparing a resignation letter, Myrick met with her supervisors in the local court system and asked if an accommodation could be made to allow her to work without performing gay marriages.

A Wake County magistrate marries a same-sex couple after a federal court ruling overturned North Carolina's constitutional prohibition against gay marriage. A magistrate using that provision must sit out all marriages, gay and heterosexual, for six months.

The settlement finalized in late January and made public Wednesday includes about $, in lost pay and retirement benefits, in addition to attorneys' fees. The judge, Michael Devine, found that her departure was not truly voluntary because declining to perform gay marriages would have subjected her to removal.