N.Y. clerk Laura Fortusky resigns in protest of gay marriage; refused to sign same-sex licenses

"When you enforce the laws of the state, you don't get to pick and choose which laws," Cuomo said when asked about Barker Town Clerk Laura Fotusky's decision to step down.

"So if you can't enforce the law, then you shouldn't be in that position," he added. "You can't pick and choose -- the law is the law."

Fotusky, a Republican, informed the town board of the Broome County community outside Binghamton Monday that she would be "compromising my moral conscience" by administering marriage licenses for gay couples.

Fotusky, 56, appears to be the first municipal official in New York to resign in protest over the Legislature's vote legalize same sex marriages effective July 24. She has served since 2007.