CHARLOTTE, NC — The national debate on same-sex marriage takes center stage in a courtroom battle tomorrow, and the outcome will have an impact here.
North Carolina is keeping an eye on the appeal of a Virginia federal court decision overturning that state’s ban on same-sex marriage.
“The battle is on between the conservative and liberal sides,” says Scott Broyles of the Charlotte School of Law.
And that battle centers on same-sex couples, and their right to marry.
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals will take up the issue, deciding if Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriages can stand. How they will rule is far from certain.
“There is a possibility that the 4th circuit, being a fairly conservative court, will not rule as the other federal courts have done,” says Broyles.
Those other courts have ruled that defining marriage as only between one man and one woman is unconstitutional, similar to North Carolina’s Amendment One.
“This law is on the wrong side of history, and that we are marching toward a society where we don’t discriminate against each other,” says North Carolina State Representative Jeff Jackson.
“I think that there is a huge segment of North Carolina’s population that does want equal protection in the Constitution,” says Charlotte family law attorney Matt Arnold.
It could be months before the appeals court comes down with a decision, and that decision may not be the end.
The Virginia case, or one of the three cases challenging Amendment One in North Carolina, could be the next to go before the supreme court, and their decision may be made along political divides.
“It’s sort of lined up that way. You have the four liberals on one side. Four conservatives on one side in the last two gay marriage cases,” says Dr. John Szmer, UNC Charlotte Associate Professor in Political Science. “And you had Kennedy right smack dab in the middle, leaning slightly to the left.”
Former Charlotte mayor Anthony Foxx weighed in on North Ccarolina’s ban on same-sex marriage today. The transportation secretary said the ban is wrong and hopes the state gets it right.
