Three Republican lawmakers in North Carolina are now looking to ban same-sex marriage in the state with a bill called the “Uphold Historical Marriage Act,” which critics say is already “dead on arrival.”
The bill, House Bill 780, sponsored by Reps. Larry Pittman, Michael Speciale and Carl Ford argues that the U.S. Supreme Court overstepped its “constitutional bounds” in 2015 when it struck down what was known as Amendment One.
“HB 780 is about the need for the states to reassert their rights. As the bill states, marriage is not a federal matter. For too long, the federal government and federal courts have been allowed to overstep their bounds because the states have not had the courage to say no. Upholding the U.S. and North Carolina constitutions means demanding that laws and court rulings do not contradict the very constitutions we are obligated to uphold. I appreciate Rep. Speciale and Rep. Ford for having the courage to stand with me and say so,” Pittman said in a statement cited by WSOC-TV.
More than 60 percent of North Carolina voters approved of Amendment One in 2012 which declares that “marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.”
In October 2014, however, U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn of Asheville struck down Amendment One.
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