By Jessica Dula
On October 10th, 2014, the U.S. District Court in Asheville, NC overturned the ban on gay marriage in North Carolina when Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. proclaimed that the law was incongruent with U.S. constitutional law.
Marriage licenses to same-sex couples were immediately distributed after the ruling. The first marriage license in Mecklenburg County was issued to Terrance Hall and Christopher DeCaria. Decaria told The Charlotte Observer, “I didn’t think this day would come in North Carolina for a long time.” Hall and DeCaria had been together for five years and engaged for two years.
Several North Carolina Republican leaders are displeased with the ruling and are working on filing an appeal. NC House Speaker Thom Tillis and NC Senate president pro tempore Phil Berger have hired John Eastman, chairman of the National Organization for Marriage, to get the ban back. Tillis and Berger claim their goal is to defend the tradition of marriage being between male and female partners only. Tillis told Channel 9, “ I will take the advice of my legal counsel, we will use every option available to us as we go through the courts.” Tillis plans to fight this until the ban on gay marriage returns to North Carolina.
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to overturn bans on gay marriage, but individual state courts have the option to reject such laws if they choose to. While same-sex marriage has become legal in North Carolina, federally it continues to be a hot-button topic. South Carolina has declined to take action until the federal courts resolve the issue definitively or until the Supreme Court makes an alternate decision. If Republicans file an appeal, the Supreme Court will most likely be compelled to act decisively.
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