In response to North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper's announcement over the weekend that he personally supports marriage equality,
the Buncombe County Register of Deeds (Asheville) Drew Reisinger
(pictured), says he will accept marriage license applications from
same-sex couples today and seek Cooper's official opinion.
Cooper has said that he will continue to fight challenges to the state's ban on same-sex marriage despite his personal views.
“I will let each couple know that it is
my hope to grant them a license, but I need to seek the North Carolina
Attorney General’s approval,” Reisinger said in a release. “I have
concerns about whether we are violating people’s civil rights based on
this summer’s Supreme Court decision.”
Reisinger will accept the license
applications but withhold his own signature pending an opinion from
state Attorney General Roy Cooper.
Reisinger added, “I will then let the Attorney General know that I would
like to issue these couples licenses, but that I need his clarification
on the laws of the state that seem to contradict the equal protection
clause of the U.S. Constitution.”
Cooper’s office issued a brief statement
Monday night in response to Reisinger’s announcement, pointing out that
the state constitution prohibits anyone from issuing licenses to same
sex couples.
“The State Constitution says that these marriage licenses cannot be
issued and this is the law unless the Constitution is changed or the
court says otherwise,” said Noelle Talley, a spokeswoman for Cooper’s
office. “This very issue is the subject of pending litigation against
the State of North Carolina.”
At least six gay couples will apply for licenses tomorrow at
Reisinger's office, according to the Campaign for Southern Equality.
Two years ago this week, 18 gay couples pursued marriage licenses at
the Buncombe County Register of Deeds Offices and were denied.
No comments:
Post a Comment