RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A federal judge in North Carolina has struck down the state’s gay marriage ban, opening the way for the first same-sex weddings in the state to begin immediately.
U.S. District Court Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr., in Asheville issued a ruling Friday shortly after 5 p.m. declaring the ban approved by state voters in 2012 unconstitutional.
Buncombe County Register of Deeds Drew Reisinger kept his Asheville office open late to begin issuing marriage licenses to waiting couples.
Cogburn’s ruling follows Monday’s announcement by the U.S. Supreme Court that it would not hear any appeal of a July ruling by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond striking down Virginia’s ban. That court has jurisdiction oover North Carolina.
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starts humming “Another One Bites The Dust”
I used to pop open a bottle with each state. If I did that now, I’d be shitfaced all during the work week. Think I’ll wait until the last state to celebrate.
What’s your bet for the last state? I am betting on it being Mississippi or Alabama.
Mississippi took 150 years to ratify the 13th Amendment and outlaw slavery. My money is on them.
Not a surprise – as the article points out, North Carolina is in the Fourth Circuit, and the judge was bound by the Appeals Court ruling in the Virginia case.