Today Federal Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. ruled against North Carolina’s constitutional amendment banning marriage equality, making North Carolina the latest state to see such a ban struck down since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its historic marriage rulings last June. In General Synod of the United Church of Christ v. Cooper, the United Church of Christ, who sued the state on behalf of same-sex couples, argued that North Carolina’s ban on marriage equality violates the U.S. Constitution. In his injunction, Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. wrote, “The issue before this court is neither a political issue nor a moral issue. It is a legal issue and it is clear as a matter of what is now settled law in the Fourth Circuit that North Carolina laws prohibiting same sex marriage, refusing to recognize same sex marriages originating elsewhere, and/or threatening to penalize those who would solemnize such marriages, are unconstitutional.”
“According to today’s District Court ruling and two dozen others over the last year, there is no justifiable reason to keep these discriminatory marriage bans on the books,” said Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “The truth is, laws prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying serve no purpose other than to harm Americans who simply want to protect and provide for themselves and their families. Ultimately the U.S. Constitution does not allow states to continue discriminating against committed and loving gay and lesbian couples.”
Monday, the nine justices of the Supreme Court announced they had declined to hear any of the cases pending before them challenging state bans on marriage for same-sex couples. This allowed the circuit court decisions striking down the bans to stand.
“It is striking that so-called anti-gay marriage experts have trotted out the same legal arguments that have been discredited and rejected time and time again by federal courts across the country. This is why defending any state ban on marriage equality is a futile effort, and precisely why state bans continue to fall in rapid succession. We believe without a doubt that these desperate efforts to salvage discriminatory laws like Amendment One will fail every time and everywhere,” says Jacob Sussman, lead counsel for plaintiffs in General Synod of the United Church of Christ vs. Cooper and partner at Tin Fulton Walker & Owen.
