Religion

rug

(82,333 posts) Wed May 27, 2015, 08:42 PM May 2015

Amid religious debate, House approves magistrate recusal bill

Posted 6:20 p.m. today
Updated 27 minutes ago
By Laura Leslie and Matthew Burns

Raleigh, N.C. — After a lengthy and heated debate, House lawmakers voted 65-45 Wednesday to tentatively approve a bill allowing magistrates and other public officials to refuse to perform marriages for religious reasons.

Senate Bill 2 would allow magistrates and employees of county register of deeds offices who object to same-sex marriage to recuse themselves from performing or recording any marriages, gay or straight, for a period of at least six months.

If all magistrates in a county recuse themselves from performing marriages, then the chief judge must request an outside magistrate or perform the marriages himself or herself. Similarly, if all employees of a register of deeds office recuse themselves, the elected register must issue marriage licenses.

The bill also specifies that civil marriages must be available in every county at least 10 hours a week, spread out over three business days. Currently, there is no minimum time set in state law, so the availability of civil marriage varies widely from one county to the next.

http://www.wral.com/house-approves-magistrate-recusal-bill/14672917/

1:51 video at link.

4 replies

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Amid religious debate, House approves magistrate recusal bill (Original Post) rug May 2015 OP

This an't possibly be legal, can it? cbayer May 2015 #1

It's legal if it's signed into law. But is it constitutional? rug May 2015 #2

That's what I meant. cbayer May 2015 #3

No. You cannot constitutionally accommodate discrimination by a governmental official. rug May 2015 #4

cbayer

(146,218 posts)

1. This an't possibly be legal, can it?

Reply to rug (Original post)

Wed May 27, 2015, 08:46 PM

May 2015

rug

(82,333 posts)

2. It's legal if it's signed into law. But is it constitutional?

Reply to cbayer (Reply #1)

Wed May 27, 2015, 08:50 PM

May 2015

cbayer

(146,218 posts)

3. That's what I meant.

Reply to rug (Reply #2)

Wed May 27, 2015, 08:52 PM

May 2015

Do you think it's constitutional.

rug

(82,333 posts)

4. No. You cannot constitutionally accommodate discrimination by a governmental official.

Reply to cbayer (Reply #3)

Wed May 27, 2015, 08:59 PM

May 2015

No matter how cutely they craft the bill.

I like the Democrats' response:

"The same-sex couple pays exactly the same taxes to support that magistrate’s salary as a heterosexual couple, and they do have the right to expect the same service," argued Rep. Grier Martin, D-Wake.

"We’re creating a situation where people can discriminate against other members of our society at their discretion and not be disciplined," added Rep. Larry Hall, D-Durham. "Certain people have full rights that they vote for and pay for, and other people don’t have those same full rights to treatment on an equal basis."

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