Civil servants who refuse to marry gays will not be sacked

Monday 30 July 2012

Civil servants who refuse to marry gay couples will not face the sack, home affairs minister Liesbeth Spies told parliament in a briefing on Monday.

Spies said banning civil servants on these grounds would need a change in the law and she will not proceed in a period when the government is in a caretaker situation. The matter will have to wait until after the election on September 12, according to press reports.

A parliamentary majority voted for two motions just before the summer recess to put an end to the refusal of civil servants to carry out marriages between gay couples.

Only the minority cabinet of Christian Democrats and VVD liberals are against the ban.

Many local councils employ registrars who refuse to marry same-sex couple, nearly all of which are orthodox Christians.

Spies said she will not ask these councils to change their policy, as MPs had requested.

© DutchNews.nl