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On a Saturday in November, two women went to Syracuse City Court to get married.
It was after arraignments, in a lull in the courtroom, and a man and woman were ahead of them.
Judge Felicia Pitts Davis performed the marriage of the man and woman, in a simple and sweet ceremony, and then excused herself.
The women happily waited their turn.
About 10 minutes later, Judge Mary Anne Doherty came into the courtroom, called the two women up, and united them in marriage, and they left joyfully, eager to begin their wedded life together.
That’s what happened.
And now they want Felicia Pitts Davis kicked off the bench.
She has been reported to the Judicial Conduct Commission, which can remove her as a judge and forever ban her from being a judge again, and the Syracuse city comptroller, a fellow elected Democrat, has demanded her resignation.
For nothing.
Two women went to get married, and they got married, and they didn’t think anything of it until a newspaper reporter called them two weeks later.
But now it is a statewide story and soon may be a national story, and people are pointing at Judge Felicia Pitts Davis and accusing her of bigotry and violating the law. They want her fired and they want her cancelled.
And they might get their way.
Felicia Pitts Davis grew up in Syracuse. She went to Cornell and she went to Howard and she came home to work, on the Civilian Review Board and as a defense lawyer, and in 2020 she was elected a City Court judge. Personally, I don’t like her politics. I’m a conservative Republican and she’s a liberal Democrat and when she was fired by Mayor Stephanie Miner back in 2011, I supported the mayor.
But this isn’t about politics. It’s about freedom, and about the fact that we all have rights – all of us – and that reasonable people can make sure that everyone’s rights are respected.
Including Felicia Pitts Davis’s rights.
She is a Christian. Always has been. She was raised in the church and is still active in the church.
And when two women were waiting to be united in marriage, Felicia Pitts Davis faced the sort of moral choice people of faith can sometimes encounter. She doesn’t believe in same-sex marriage, on religious and biblical grounds, and she does not believe it is morally right for her to officiate in same-sex weddings. That’s what her conscience tells her; that’s what she believes her God tells her.
So she politely excused herself.
And went to find another judge.
Judge Pitts went to Judge Doherty and explained her religious views and asked if she – Judge Doherty – could help the waiting couple. And Judge Doherty did.
And everyone won.
The couple were happily married, and the judge was able to live her religion. The guarantees to the gay couple made by the laws of New York were honored, and the innate and constitutional right of the judge to the free exercise of her religion was likewise honored.
It was a reasonable accommodation which respected the rights of three Americans who crossed paths in a Syracuse courtroom. The women were not discriminated against because of their orientation, and the judge was not discriminated against because of her religion.
The system worked.
But that’s not what some people want. Some people don’t want parity, they want priority. They don’t want to advance their rights, they want to oppress other people’s rights. That’s not directed at the newlywed ladies, it’s directed at the indignant reporters and activists, and the city comptroller.
The upset that has erupted over this matter isn’t really about respecting the rights of gay people, it’s about suppressing the rights of religious people – specifically, Christian people. It is about a culture war that has begun to look a lot like religious persecution.
Requiring anyone to violate their conscience is contrary to the nature of this country. That is nowhere more true than when it comes to religion. We are a nation founded by people who sought religious freedom and who listed freedom of religion as the very first of our constitutional rights.
That is the guiding principle of our Republic and of our liberty.
You can’t make a Muslim eat pork, you can’t make a Jew bow to Jesus, and you can’t make a Christian perform a gay marriage.
And only a bigot would try.
It is not equity which seeks to compel a Christian judge to violate her religion, it is intolerance.
Particularly when there is a reasonable accommodation which serves all.
And, in this instance, Judge Felicia Pitts Davis found and quietly and respectfully implemented that reasonable accommodation.
She excused herself, she quickly found another judge to perform the ceremony, and everyone’s rights were respected.
That’s the American way.
Hounding her from the bench is not.
Gay people have rights in America.
And so do Christians.
There can be no religious test for public office in America. Such a test is wrong whether it is affirmative or negative. You can’t be forced to go to Mass to get a government job, and neither can you be forced to do deeds which are immoral to you. They can’t force you to join their religion or reject your own. You can’t tell a Bible-believing woman that she can’t be a judge, that her religion disqualifies her.
Felicia Pitts Davis did nothing wrong, other than be a free American.
And the people who are criticizing her are intolerant and wrong.