The next round in the debate over gay marriage may be coming to North Carolina.
On January 28th, North Carolina Senator Phil Berger announced the filing of a bill entitled “Magistrates Recusal of Civil Ceremonies.”
Berger Files Bill To Protect First Amendment Rights, Jobs Of N.C. Magistrates, Registers Of Deeds’ Staff http://t.co/MWRn5DENP2 #NCGA #NCPOL
— Senator Phil Berger (@SenatorBerger) January 28, 2015
The intent of the legislation, known as Senate Bill 2, is to allow for Registers of Deeds and state Magistrates to recuse themselves from their official duties in cases where they have a serious religious objection – that is, they wouldn’t have to perform gay marriages, if it violated their religious convictions.
Senator Berger explained his motivations for the bill in a press release:
“While the courts have expanded of the freedoms of some, we must not ignore the constitutionally-protected rights of others,” said Berger. “This bill offers a reasonable solution to protect the First Amendment rights of magistrates and register of deeds employees while complying with the marriage law ordered by the courts – so they are not forced to abandon their religious beliefs to save their jobs.”
The bill comes just months after a U.S. District Judge overturned North Carolina’s Amendment One, which banned same-sex marriage in North Carolina by means of a state Constitutional amendment.
Amendment One passed in 2012 in a statewide ballot vote by a wide margin, with 61% in favor and 39% opposed.
A.P. Dillon resides in the Triangle area of North Carolina and is the founder of LadyLiberty1885.com. Her current and past writing can also be found at Da Tech Guy Blog, StopCommonCoreNC.org, WatchdogWireNC and WizBang. Her current writing project is a children’s book series.
The post North Carolina May Have Found A Compromise On Gay Marriage. It’s Still Controversial. appeared first on Independent Journal Review.