RALEIGH, N.C. — Same-sex couples in North Carolina are eagerly awaiting federal court rulings they hope will allow them to get married.
Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina filed a request late Wednesday asking Chief U.S. District Court Judge William L. Osteen, Jr. to strike down the state’s gay marriage ban.
Osteen earlier issued an order lifting his stays and dismissing all motions in two same-sex marriage challenges that he oversees, a possible sign he is preparing to rule following Monday’s refusal by the U.S. Supreme Court to hear appeals on the issue.
In a third challenge, U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger in Asheville has removed himself from the case.
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Appointed by President George W. Bush, Reidinger transferred the case Thursday to Judge Max Cogburn, Jr., an Obama appointee.
The Charlotte Observer reports that state House Republicans have hired Charlotte attorney Robert Potter and will ask the federal court to allow the General Assembly to intervene in the cases.
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