Republican North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory has vetoed SB 2, a bill that would have allowed magistrates to opt out of performing same-sex marriages if they have a religious objection. Ahead of his veto McCory said, “I recognize that for many North Carolinians, including myself, opinions on same-sex marriage come from sincerely held religious beliefs…
WASHINGTON—In the latest development following the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this month to decline to hear any pending cases regarding same-sex marriage, Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the federal government will now recognize same-sex married couples in six new states: Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, North Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming. Last week, the attorney…
The GOP started the 2014 cycle with high hopes and a clear path to the Senate majority. Despite Democratic gains in 2012, Republicans needed only 6 of the 7 Democratic controlled seats in states won by Mitt Romney: Alaska, Arkansas, Montana, South Dakota, West Virginia, Louisiana and North Carolina. Naturally, things have not remained so…
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…
RALEIGH, N.C. — On what is being termed “Marriage Monday,” North Carolina church leaders and clergy delivered two petitions to the office of State Attorney General Roy Cooper that call on him to cease defending Amendment One and the state’s other discriminatory state marriage laws. The United Church of Christ and other faith groups argue that the State’s marriage…
NEW YORK — The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) joined as plaintiff in a pending Federal District Court lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s same-sex marriage ban. Among the suit’s charges is that North Carolina’s ban on same-sex marriage restricts the rights of individuals to freely practice their religion and therefore violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment…
CHARLOTTE, N.C., — Defendants in the case, General Synod of the United Church of Christ v. Cooper, filed motions for a 30-day extension of time to respond to the lawsuit today in U.S. District Court in Charlotte. The Attorney General of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, on behalf of himself and all Defendant District Attorneys, specifically…
A report filed with the Whiteville, N.C. Police Department indicates that Mary Gowans, 41, attempted to have her younger son repeatedly strike her older son in an attempt to ‘beat the gay’ out of him. The report states that when the officer arrived, screaming and yelling could be heard by several subjects inside the home….
Disclosing that you have a chronic illness can be tough, and epilepsy is one of the most stigmatized and misunderstood diseases. Now add telling others that you are gay, and you will understand the courage Rick Stevens needed to admit that he is “different” in both ways. He shares how epilepsy is not the disability people thought it…
RALEIGH, N.C. – Today the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation (ACLU-NCLF) announced plans to challenge North Carolina’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples by amending a federal lawsuit filed against the state last year on behalf of six same-sex couples and their children that challenges North Carolina’s…
