North Carolina is back at it again, attempting to take away the rights of its LGBTQ+ citizens. Republican Representatives Larry Pittman of Concord, Michael Speciale of New Bern and Carl Ford of China Grove have proposed a bill to make same-sex marriage illegal again in the state of North Carolina. The bill is titled “Uphold Historical Marriage Act.”
If passed, this bill will make the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling null and void in the state of North Carolina, meaning that the state of North Carolina would be free to decide their own marriage laws.
The ACLU jumped in to comment on this bill. “Marriage equality is the law of the land in North Carolina and the entire nation, no matter what half-baked legal theories anti-LGBT lawmakers try to put forward,” shared ACLU-NC Policy Director Sarah Gillooly. “This bill is absurd, unconstitutional and further proof that some North Carolina legislators remain committed to discriminating against LGBT people and their families. North Carolina lawmakers cannot defy the U.S. Supreme Court based on their extreme personal views.”
The bill cites religious reasoning in defense of the proposed decision, commenting that, “the ruling of the United States Supreme Court not only exceeds the authority of the Court relative to the State of North Carolina and a vote of the People of the State on an issue pertaining solely to the State of North Carolina and the People of North Carolina but also exceeds the authority of the Court relative to the decree of Almighty God that ‘a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh’ (Genesis 2:24, ESV) and abrogates the clear meaning and understanding of marriage in all societies throughout prior history.”
Those interested in reading the bill in its entirety can click here.
