LEONARDTOWN, Md. (AP) - Some deputy court clerks in St. Mary's County will stop performing marriages when same-sex marriage becomes legal in Maryland next week.

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Joan Williams is clerk of the St. Mary's Circuit Court. She tells The Washington Examiner that some of her employees are opposed to gay marriage for religious reasons. As a result, she decided those deputy clerks won't perform any marriages. She says it's a way of respecting their beliefs.

All counties in Maryland are legally required to start performing same-sex marriages on Jan. 2. Fifty-two percent of Maryland voters approved legalizing gay marriage, but some resistance remains.

Carrie Evans of Equality Maryland, a gay rights group, says there appears to be nothing discriminatory about changing which deputy clerks perform marriages.