The North Carolina Senate on Wednesday
approved a bill which seeks to allow magistrates to opt out from
marrying gay and lesbian couples.
Gay couples began marrying in North
Carolina in October after the state's ban on gay marriage was struck
down by a federal court.
The bill allows magistrates to opt-out
from performing marriages by citing a “sincerely held religious
objection.”
The measure's chief sponsor, Senate
leader Phil Berger, a Republican, vowed to introduce the legislation
after a magistrate in his district decided to resign after 12 years
rather than marry gay couples.
Berger organized a rally for John
Kallam Jr. outside the Rockingham County Courthouse.
“Forcing Magistrate Kallam to give
up his religious liberties to save his job is just wrong,” Berger
said at the time.
Wednesday's 32-16 vote was largely
along party lines, with Republicans mostly in favor of the
legislation.
At least six other states are
considering similar measures.
No Mr. Berger, homosexuality isn't against the law, despite Mr. Kallam's religious beliefs, they are just that, HIS beliefs, we are protected constitutionally from religious persecution.
If the state wants to protect him and others like him from prosecution for failing to do their job, then the state must also guarantee that it's gay citizens can walk into any court house and not be subjected to his and others self righteous religious views and most importantly, be issued their fucking license!
2 comments:
I sometimes feel like the rights we have gained in the past 30 years have been for nothing. They are just going to keep finding new ways to discriminate against us. I think we may have to hit the streets Act=Up style protesting again. The positive is that when marriage equality is nationwide. Whatever bills/laws they enact they will find our non-LGBT supporters have grown and are willing to fight beside us. I'm getting to be an old queen and I want to see the LGBT family safe by law from bigotry and hate.
This is why I say that no government has any business saying who can or can't get married. Marriage licenses were first invented to keep blacks and whites from marrying, and this is just more of the same.
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