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2007 New Jersey Attorney General Reports and Opinions 1 (2007)

handle is hein.sag/sagnj0007 and id is 1 raw text is: State of New Jersey JON S. CoRZINE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL STUART RABNER Governor DEPARTMENT OF LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY Attorney General DivisIoN OF LAW 25 MARKET STREET ROBERT J. GILSON PO Box 112 Director TRENTON, NJ 08625-0112 January 10, 2007 Joseph Komosinski State Registrar of Vital Statistics Health and Agriculture Building P.O. Box 360 Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0360 Formal Opinion No. 1-2007 Re: Whether Public Officials and Religious Figures May Decline to Exercise their Authority to Solemnize Civil Unions Dear Mr. Komosinski: On December 21, 2006, I provided advice to you regarding whether public officials may refuse to solemnize civil unions, once the statute authorizing civil unions becomes effective. A related question has arisen regarding whether religious figures, that is priests, ministers, rabbis, imams, and other religious officiants (hereinafter members of the clergy or religious figures) may refuse to solemnize civil unions based on sincerely held religious beliefs. The legal analysis and conclusions regarding these two categories of individuals authorized to solemnize marriages and civil unions differs. I, therefore, wish to provide you with comprehensive advice on the questions noted above, which includes a reiteration of my December 21, 2006 advice. You were previously advised that although public officials can decline to exercise their authority to solemnize marriages and civil unions entirely, if a public official elects to be available generally for the purpose of solemnizing marriages, New Jersey Is An Equal Opportunity Employer -Printed on Recycled Paper and Recyclable