The debate continues over the state's new same-sex marriage law, set to take effect this weekend. YNN's Bill Carey says the approaching change in the state's view of marriage has cost another town clerk her job.

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OSWEGO COUNTY, N.Y. -- It was back in 2009, as the state legislature took a vote on same sex marriage, that Ruth Sheldon began to ponder what she would do. The law failed to pass. But the issue flared again this year as lawmakers again took up the bill, this time, approving it.

The Town of Granby in Oswego County is not a hotbed for those looking to be married. In all of 2010, clerk Ruth Sheldon's office issued just 13 marriage licenses. Chances are, Sheldon may never have been confronted with the question of whether to sign off on a same-sex marriage, but she says, she couldn't take the chance.

"I know what the Bible says. My conscience, my faith, my God says I can't sign these licenses," Sheldon said.

Sheldon has now become the second Upstate Town Clerk to resign their job rather than comply with the same-sex marriage law.

But the vast majority of clerks across New York State say they will honor the new law and will begin issuing licenses come Sunday.

Some can't wait to comply. Syracuse City Clerk John Copanas is opening his office for a half day Sunday to honor the first round of requests.

"It's a very good time for me, and happy time that I'm still the City Clerk after all these years, when this is a legal matter. Certainly, I've advocated for it for years, but my job is to enforce the law and that's what I've done up until now and I certainly never tried to go around the existing law," Copanas said.

And that's been tough for Copanas, who is gay. Now, he says, he's distressed that some fellow clerks would rather step aside than abide by the law.

"Because I had to enforce a law I wasn't in favor of for 19 years, as I've been City Clerk, handing out these licenses, that I felt that same sex couples should have been eligible but I couldn't do anything about it, so I followed the law," Copanas said.

Sheldon says she is not playing politics, that her decision was personal.

"I won't look at anybody else and say, well, why did you decide this or why did you decide this. This is between me and the Lord. God has promised to take care of me," Sheldon said.

She'll leave her job Saturday night, on the eve of the new law taking effect.