RALEIGH, N.C. — A bill that would allow magistrates and registers of deeds to opt out of providing legal marriage services or issuing marriage licenses, passed out of a state Senate committee on Tuesday, and heads to a full hearing on the Senate floor.
The bill, SB 2, was heard this morning in the Senate Judiciary II Committee. Proponents of the bill say it is needed to protect magistrates and other government officials who have a “sincerely held religious belief.”
Critics of the measure, including Equality NC and the ACLU of North Carolina, say that the bill would allow government officials to pick and choose which citizens they want to serve, using religion as a guise for discrimination.
The bill is largely directed toward discriminating against LGBT couples, but in comments and debate on the bill on Monday morning, proponents admitted that it would also allow magistrates and registers of deeds to discriminate against interracial couples.
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The ACLU points out that, in 1977, two Forsyth County magistrates denied marriage services to interracial couple Thomas Roger Person and Carol Ann Figueroa. The couple successfully sued the magistrates in federal court.
“Religious freedom is one of our most valued liberties, but it should never be used as an excuse to deny government services to those who qualify, simply because of who they love,” Sarah Preston, policy director for the ACLU of North Carolina, said in a release late Monday.
“This bill is clearly designed to deny gay and lesbian couples their legal right to marry, but it would also make it harder for all North Carolina couples, especially those living in smaller counties, to access their right to be married under the law. We urge lawmakers to reject this bill and ensure that government services in North Carolina remain open to all on equal terms,” said Preston.
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Equality NC is asking their supporters to sign two action alerts, one to state legislators and another to Gov. Pat McCrory.
The magistrates bill was promised by State Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger last fall, after federal courts overturned the state’s anti-LGBT marriage amendment.
Berger introduced his bill the first full day of legislative work.
A broader, more far-reaching discriminatory bill is widely expected to be introduced this session, as well.
