A Superior Court Judge in Washington State who refuses to officiate
at the weddings of same-sex couples has been “admonished” by the state’s
Judicial Conduct Commission. An “admonishment” – a warning that is
noted in the Judge’s employment record – is the least severe punishment
the commission could have levied.
Judge Gary Tabor, a graduate of Oklahoma Christian College,
said publicly that “for philosophical and religious reasons”, he would
not perform marriages for gay and lesbian couples, even though such
unions have been legal in Washington State since last December. The
Commission found that by continuing to perform marriages for
heterosexual couples, Judge Tabor “created an appearance of
impropriety.” (Appearance? Ya think?)
According to the Olympian,
the commission ruled when the judge agreed to officiate at weddings, it
was incumbent upon him that he did “not discriminate or appear to
discriminate against a statutorily-protected class of people, thereby
undermining public confidence in his impartiality.’’
Besides accepting the admonishment in his file, Judge Tabor has
agreed not to perform any marriage ceremonies, and will be responsible
to make sure a judge is always available to perform weddings for couples
requesting the service.
Is it just me, or does this seem like too small a penalty for Judge
Tabor to pay for his blatant discrimination? It isn’t like he has a
disability that doesn’t allow him to perform one of the functions of his
job. He just refuses to do it. It is against the law in Washington to
discriminate against gay people, and yet the commission is allowing this
judge to continue his homophobic ways.
It seems to me Judge Tabor might be better suited to another line of work.
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