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North Carolina Allows Officials To Refuse Marriage Licenses To Gays Defying the governor, lawmakers on Thursday enacted a law that allows state court officials to refuse to perform a marriage if they have a “sincerely held religious objection,” a measure aimed at curtailing same-sex unions . Via NY Times : The Republican-controlled House voted 69-41 on Thursday to override a veto by Gov. Pat McCrory, also a Republican, who refused to sign the marriage bill in May. Mr. McCrory said at the time that although he believed that marriage should be between a man and a woman, he vetoed the bill because “no public official who voluntarily swears to support and defend the Constitution and to discharge all duties of their office should be exempt from upholding that oath.” The State Senate, which is also controlled by Republicans, overrode Mr. McCrory’s veto June 1. The law, which takes effect immediately, allows magistrates, along with assistant and deputy registers of deeds, to refuse to perform a marriage without facing punishment or charges of willfully failing to discharge their duties. Court officials who disclose a religious objection must stop performing all marriages for at least six months. The governor condemned the move. “It’s a disappointing day for the rule of law and the process of passing legislation in North Carolina,” Mr. McCrory said in a statement. Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union said it was too soon to say how a ruling expected this month by the United States Supreme Court regarding same-sex marriage might affect the North Carolina law. The measure is one of a string of bills in states like Indiana, Arkansas and Louisiana to allow people to circumvent equal protection for same-sex couples on grounds of religious freedom. It is also part of a series of sharply conservative bills passed by North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature, including a bill signed last Friday by the governor that requires women who seek abortions to wait 72 hours before they can undergo the procedure. “It’s hard to believe that any governor — much less a conservative one — would veto a bill protecting the religious freedoms of his constituents. The House and the Senate made the right call in overriding Governor McCrory’s ill-advised veto and we are grateful for their continued leadership in fighting to preserve this fundamental American freedom,” the group’s executive director, Tami Fitzgerald, said in a statement. Let’s discuss….

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In 2015… North Carolina Allows Officials To Refuse Marriage Licenses To Gay And Interracial Couples