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SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A judge in Marion County, Oregon, is being investigated by a judicial fitness commission in part over his refusal to perform same-sex marriages on religious grounds.
A spokesman for Judge Vance Day says when a federal court ruling in May 2014 made same-sex marriage legal in Oregon, Day instructed his staff to refer same-sex couples looking to marry to other judges.
Last fall, he decided to stop performing weddings altogether.
Last month, the Ohio Supreme Court's Board of Professional Conduct said judges can't refuse to marry same-sex couples on personal, moral or religious grounds.
The Ohio board ruled that judges who stop performing all marriages to avoid marrying same-sex couples may be interpreted as biased and could be disqualified from any case where sexual orientation is an issue.
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