Amendment done - 4th circuit rules in favor of marriage equality

Submitted by Jake Gellar-Goad on

From CNN:

The 4th Circuit opinion also will affect marriage laws in other states within its jurisdiction, including West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Only Maryland has legalized same-sex marriage.

Though I believe the opinion is stayed until the Supreme Court likely weighs in next year, this is a precedent that spells an end to amendment one. It didn't even take 20 years. Join Equality NC's celebration at Motorco in Durham at 6:30pm!

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Text of the decision

Submitted by Jake Gellar-Goad on

Since I'm just summarizing what I'm reading from a variety of sources, which can be messy & not always perfectly accurate right after a big decision, here's the text of the actual decision for anyone who wants to parse it themselves. That Equality NC event I linked above though is probably a great place to go for some Q&A and to get the scoop from the experts.

http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/usca4_SSM_20140728.pdf

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals links

Submitted by usernamehere on

Home page:
http://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/

Text of decision:
http://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/Opinions/Published/141167.P.pdf

List of judges on the panel that decided the case:
http://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/judges/judges-of-the-court/judge-henry-f-floyd
http://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/judges/judges-of-the-court/judge-roger-l-gregory
http://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/judges/judges-of-the-court/judge-paul-v-niemeyer

Judge Floyd wrote the opinion. Judge Niemeyer dissented.

The majority affirmed that marriage is a fundamental right and applied strict scrutiny (the highest form of constitutional review) to Virginia's marriage laws.
The dissent went on about stable procreation and "tradition" -- as if we haven't tossed some seriously problematic "traditions" in our nation's history.

 

NC AG no longer defending marriage discrimination

Submitted by Jake Gellar-Goad on

http://www.wncn.com/story/26132175/ncs-cooper-to-address-va-gay-marriage-ruling

AG Cooper: 'Time to stop defending gay marriage ban'

RALEIGH, N.C. - North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said Monday that the state will no longer defend its ban on gay marriage after a ruling by the U.S.4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. The federal court has ruled Virginia law banning gay marriage unconstitutional.

I wasn't shy about calling him out on this a few months back and I sure wasn't the only one.

Photos from Decision Day & Moral Monday

Submitted by Jake Gellar-Goad on

I spent this afternoon and early evening at 2 rallies in my new home town of Durham.

Here are some photos from the Equality NC Decision Day rally at Motorco in Durham and from the Moral Monday rally in downtown Durham about an hour earlier:

Decision Day

Moral Monday