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Brief
Three Republican lawmakers filed a bill in the N.C. House late Wednesday that would declare same-sex marriage illegal in defiance of the United States Supreme Court.
House Bill 65 – the Marriage Amendment Reaffirmation Act – would declare null and void 2015’s landmark Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decision. That decision effectively legalized same-sex marriage and invalidated state constitutional amendments banning it, including North Carolina’s.
It’s worth noting Amendment One, constitutionally defining marriage as being between a man and a woman, passed in 2012 with a statewide voter turnout of a mere 35 percent.
HB 65 terms marriages not between one man and one woman “parody marriages,” despite their legality in the United States since 2015.
“On the eve of Valentine’s Day, three NC reps filed a bill to say ‘Love is not Love,'” said LGBTQ advocacy group Equality NC in a statement on the bill. “This is yet another heartless attempt to rewrite settled legislation that protects same-sex couples all across the state. Love will prevail in the face of hate.”
It remains to be seen whether leadership of the General Assembly’s GOP majority will allow a vote on the bill.
Gov. Roy Cooper is on record opposing the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. With recent Democratic gains, Republicans lost the supermajority that allowed them to easily overturn Cooper’s veto.
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