North Carolina governor to veto opt-out bill for officials opposing gay marriage

[Jazzy]

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory said on Thursday he would veto legislation allowing government officials to refuse to perform marriages by citing religious objections.

The measure, passed by the state's Republican-led House of Representatives earlier in the day, would protect those who oppose same-sex weddings from losing their jobs.

The Republican governor said no public officials who swore to defend the Constitution and perform their duties of office should be exempt from upholding their oath.

"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," he said. "However, we are a nation and a state of laws."

The bill allows magistrates and other officials to refuse to perform marriages or issue marriage certificates by citing a “sincerely held religious objection.” Once they have asked to be recused in writing, magistrates would be barred from performing any marriage, gay or heterosexual, for six months.

During debate over several days, supporters of the measure said it would offer needed protection for magistrates who have said they would not perform gay marriages since the practice became legal in North Carolina last year.

“Really the question is, should you be fired from a job or subject to disciplinary action because you choose to live your life by sincerely held religious beliefs?” Republican Representative Dean Arp said.

Source

In your opinion: Should you be fired from a job or subject to disciplinary action because you choose to live your life by sincerely held religious beliefs? Why/Why not?

 

[Webster]

Source

In your opinion: Should you be fired from a job or subject to disciplinary action because you choose to live your life by sincerely held religious beliefs? Why/Why not?

Gov. McCrory said it best above....

"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," he said. "However, we are a nation and a state of laws."

If you're a public magistrate - or any other public official - you don't get to pick & choose the laws you want to enforce; religious beliefs shouldn't come into play here....no way, uh-huh, hell no. :usa:

 

[Jazzy]

All government jobs require people to swear to protect the Constitution (whether the state's or the Union's). The state then grants you the power to perform those duties, whether as a judge or clerk. In effect, you are performing the duties on behalf of the state, NOT yourself. Therefore, your personal beliefs are inconsequential. If you are a pastor, you should not be forced to perform marriages that are against your institutions belief system, but as a government employee, you must perform the law as written. If you are a state employee who doesn't believe in same-sex marriages, you should either get another job or just do as your job requires.

 

[WHO IS SERAFIN]

This is not a simple yes or no. No matter what the supreme court says government endorsed marriage and that is what this is falls under the state not the federal government. Because once again anyone at anytime can get married you just do not get the freebies from the government. So if the states decide they want to include same sex marriage into the state then yes I do believe they need to follow the rules for the job they took. If the supreme court illegally says all states must comply with providing more freebies and give government endorsed marriages no matter what the states want to do then those employees should fight back and not support this. This is not about hate of anyone but about the states being allowed to rule themselves under the Constitution and that would definitely fall under more then just religious objections.

 

[Webster]

Well, it looks like the N.C. Senate has told Gov. McCrory to take his veto and shove it...

(LGBTQ Nation) RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina state Senate voted Monday night to override Gov. Pat McCrory’s veto of a bill that would allow some court officials to refuse to perform same-sex marriage activities because of religious objections.

The 32-16 vote was above the three-fifths threshold necessary to override a veto. The bill still must clear the House again for the veto to be blocked and the law enacted. That vote was scheduled for Wednesday in the House, where the outcome is less certain because 10 lawmakers were absent last week when the bill first passed.

McCrory, a Republican who vetoed the bill within hours of final legislative passage, saying no public official voluntarily taking an oath to support and defend the Constitution should be exempt from upholding duties. The bill followed within a few months of federal judges striking down North Carolina’s 2012 constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage.

But GOP colleagues in the legislature backing the idea said the government employees have the right to receive reasonable accommodations based on their deeply held beliefs in the name of constitutionally-held religious freedoms.

“Just because someone takes a job with the government does not mean they give up their First Amendment rights,” Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said during the brief override debate.

...all I can say here is "Sen. Berger, you, you hypocritical bigot!"