her position because she objected to same-sex marriage and thus would not sign marriage certificates for same-sex couples. Her resignation came two weeks after another town clerk, from Volney, said she also objected to signing certificates but would not leave her position, saying a deputy clerk would have to do it. The organization New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms said it would match the $25,000 salary Fotusky surrendered when she resigned. Granby Town Clerk Ruth Sheldon did the same a few days later. Ledyard Town Clerk Rose Marie Belforti made state and national headlines when she notified the town of Ledyard that she would not sign marriage certificates for same-sex couples due to her religious beliefs. Belforti later delegated marriage applications to a deputy. Same-sex marriage advocates and some town residents criticized Belforti for taking this action, and resident Ed Easter attempted to unseat her in the fall of 2011. Belforti was re-elected by a substantial margin. On July 25, 2011, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, represented by Liberty Counsel, filed a lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court seeking an injunction against the Marriage Equality Act, alleging corruption and violations of the law in the process of passing the bill. On November 18, 2011, acting Supreme Court Justice Robert B. Wiggins ruled that the plaintiffs' case could proceed. Justice Wiggins allowed the plaintiffs' claims under the Open Meetings Law, but dismissed other portions of the case. Justice Wiggins' opinion included the following: "It is ironic that much of the state's brief passionately spews sanctimonious verbiage on the separation of powers in the governmental branches, and clear arm-twisting by the Executive on the Legislative permeates this entire process." On July 6, 2012, a five-judge panel of the Appellate Division ruled unanimously that no violation of the Open Meetings Law had occurred and dismissed the suit. On August 6, 2012, Liberty Counsel appealed to the New York Court of Appeals, which declined to hear the appeal on October 23. Four Republican state senators−James Alesi, Mark Grisanti, Roy McDonald, and Stephen Saland−voted in favor of same-sex marriage. Of the four, only one−Mark Grisanti−was re-elected to the State Senate in 2012. On May 9, 2012, Alesi announced that he would not run for re-election and indicated that his vote on same-sex marriage would have "severely hampered" his chances in a Republican primary. Grisanti, McDonald, and Saland faced primary challenges in 2012. Grisanti won his