NORTH CAROLINA: GOP State Senate Leader To File Bill Making It Legal To Refuse To Marry Same-Sex Couples
Senate leader Phil Berger said Tuesday that he would introduce a bill that would protect the jobs of magistrates, registrars of deeds and their employees who refuse to officiate at weddings for members of the same-sex if their refusal is based on religious beliefs. A magistrate in Berger’s home county of Rockingham quit because he said marrying same-sex couples would violate his religious beliefs. “The court’s expansion of the freedoms of some should not violate the well-recognized constitutional rights of others,” Berger said in a statement. “Complying with the new marriage law imposed by the courts should not require our state employees to compromise their core religious beliefs and First Amendment rights in order to protect their livelihoods.”Equality North Carolina ain't having it: "If Senator Berger insists on being an extremist and pushing unconstitutional legislation, we will be fully prepared to fight this at the legislature in tandem with the business community." (Tipped by JMG reader Sean)
Labels: assholery, bigotry, GOP, LGBT rights, marriage equality, North Carolina, Phil Berger, religion
