Clerks Object to Issuing Same-Sex Marriage License

Some employees in the Yellowstone County clerk's office object to processing same-sex wedding licenses and won't be asked to do so, at least for now.

Yellowstone County Clerk Kristie Lee Boelter says one deputy clerk has religious objections while three other deputies object on moral grounds. Boelter says the county's human relations director made the decision to exempt those employees from issuing same-sex marriage licenses after consulting with the county attorney's office.

Boelter says the decision was based in part on the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate based on factors that include religion.

Boelter says she isn't happy with the decision. She says the office's 20 deputy clerks have taken an oath to uphold the law.