Although North Carolina has a constitutional ban on gay marriage, that ban is about to blow up.
Monday, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals heard a case out of Virginia, challenging that state’s ban on gay marriage. And in a 2 to 1 vote, the justices decided the amendment making same-sex marriage illegal was unconstitutional, that it violated the guarantee to “equal protection and due process.” The gay marriages will start in a few days.
“But that’s Virginia!” you say? True. But here in North Carolina we have Amendment One, which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. Voters approved it by roughly 60 to 40 percent back in 2012, and the Attorney General has said in the past he would defend it in court. But that changed Monday.
With the new ruling from the Fourth Circuit, the same circuit that covers North Carolina, the Attorney General had to decide whether it’s worth the fight. And he says, “No, defending the Amendment is a losing battle.” Even though a majority of voters supported it.
So our Man on the Edge, Robert Wilder, hit the streets asking: did Cooper make the right call?
