North Carolina magistrates can now opt out of performing same-sex marriages on religious grounds.
When Governor Pat McCrory vetoed this bill 13 days ago he wrote, “No public official who voluntarily swears an oath to support and defend the Constitution should be exempt from upholding that oath.”
The Senate quickly voted to override that veto. But in the House the vote had been delayed for more than a week as Speaker Tim Moore and Republican leadership worked to make sure they had the votes they needed.
Thursday morning they did. And they moved quickly. There was no debate on the House floor. Speaker Tim Moore announced the vote tally just four and a half minutes after bringing it to the floor. "Sixty-nine having voted in the affirmative and 41 in the negative, Senate Bill 2 having been overridden now becomes law."
Shortly after that the ACLU of North Carolina sent out a press release “asking any couples who encounter hurdles because of this discriminatory law” to contact their office.
