ALBANY – A couple who were fined by the state for refusing to rent out their banquet facilities for gay weddings is being asked to compromise their constitutional right to oppose same-sex marriage for religious reasons, a lawyer argued before the Appellate Division, Third Department.

J. Caleb Dalton told the panel that the dignity of one’s conviction is a “two-way street,” and that Cynthia and Robert Gifford have rights that are protected by the Constitution and the courts.