Thursday, May 28, 2015

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory to Veto Anti-gay Marriage Recusal Bill

Lately, the North Carolina Republican Party has been working hard to out do the insanity/batshitery of the Virginia GOP.  A case in point?  A bill passed by the GOP controlled North Carolina legislature that would allow court officials to opt out of same-sex marriage duties based on "sincerely held religious" objections.  Stated another way, the bill would have allowed Christofascists to ignore laws of general application - a special right, if you will.  Much to the surprise of many, North Carolina GOP Governor Pat McCrory (pictured at right) has announced that he will veto the bill which may not have enough support in the legislature to over ride McCrory's veto.  In his statement as to why he will veto the bill, McCrory sent a message that needs to be sent over and over to the Christofascists, namely, that they are NOT above the law and that when one accepts a job or governmental position, you cannot cite religious belief to avoid your duties and responsibilities.   Here are details via ABC11 News:
North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory says he'll "defend the Constitution" and will veto a gay marriage objections bill that would allow court officials to opt out of same-sex marriage duties based on "sincerely held religious" objections.
"I recognize that for many North Carolinians, including myself, opinions on same-sex marriage come from sincerely held religious beliefs that marriage is between a man and a woman. However, we are a nation and a state of laws. Whether it is the president, governor, mayor, a law enforcement officer, or magistrate, no public official who voluntarily swears to support and defend the Constitution and to discharge all duties of their office should be exempt from upholding that oath; therefore, I will veto Senate Bill 2," said McCrory.
Earlier Thursday, the House gave final approval to the bill to let magistrates and some registers of deeds employees have the option to opt out of same-sex wedding ceremonies, but they would have to stop performing all marriage duties - for gay and heterosexual couples.

The Senate had already approved the bill, which came from Republicans after gay marriage was legalized in North Carolina last October.

"The clear intent of the supporters of this bill is to make it harder for same-sex couples to marry in North Carolina," Rep. Grier Martin, D-Wake told Eyewitness News after the final vote.

Critics said the measure was merely discrimination in disguise for gay couples whose marriages have been found to be equal under the law compared to opposite-sex partners. Several people who opposed the bill likened it to efforts 50 years ago to prohibit interracial marriages.

"All eyes ... are on us today," Rep. Rick Glazier, D-Cumberland, warned colleagues, adding that the bill was the "newest abandonment of equal justice under the law."

The debate devolved into a passionate discussion about religious beliefs, with some Republican supporters of the measure saying they were following biblical principles that marriage is only between a man and a woman.
Kudos to McCrory for having the backbone to say no to the Christofascists and the political whores in his own party.  As for the morons who cited "biblical law" I have a news bulletin: THERE IS NO ESTABLISHED RELIGION IN AMERICA AND THE BBLE HAS NO PLACE IN THE CIVIL LAWS.  End of discussion.

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