Why North Carolina Judges Can Still Refuse to Perform Same-Sex Marriages
North Carolina is one of the only places in the United States where judges can refuse to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies. If magistrates have a religious objection to same-sex marriage, state law says, they can tag themselves out of issuing any marriage licenses, for either gay or straight couples, for at least six months. In the past year, various groups have sued the state over religious accommodations for North Carolina judges. But as two decisions this week show, they haven’t been very successful so far. Before North Carolina passed its exemption law, two judges, Gilbert Breedlove and Thomas Holland, sued a state administrative office for telling them that they had to perform same-sex marriages. They had asked for religious accommodation, but officials refused to give it, so they resigned from their respective posts. Although the legislature later addressed this issue by specifically putting a religious exemption for judges in place, Breedlove and Holland kept pursu