CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory said Monday he isn’t backing bills giving exemptions to court officials who don’t want to officiate same-sex marriages and offering other religious protections to businesses.
Appearing on WFAE radio in Charlotte, the Republican governor criticized, in its current form, a Senate bill that allows magistrates and some register of deeds workers to refuse to carry out marriage duties based on a “sincerely held religious objection.”
Under the bill, the official wouldn’t be allowed to perform any marriage, not just same-sex marriages.
“I don’t think you should have an exemption or a carve-out when you swore an oath to the Constitution of North Carolina or to the Constitution of the United States of America,” McCrory said. “Even if there are things in the constitution that I disagree with that are upheld by the courts.”
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A bill still becomes law when a governor declines to sign it. McCrory’s fellow Republicans hold veto-proof majorities in the House and Senate, meaning they could choose to override a governor’s objections if GOP lawmakers remain together.
