Groups and Plaintiffs Behind Three Lawsuits Challenging North Carolina’s Ban on Marriage for Same-Sex Couples Will Discuss Status of Cases and Plans to Secure Freedom to Marry
Charlotte – Organizations and individuals who have filed federal court challenges to North Carolina’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples will discuss the cases and their plans to secure the freedom to marry for all loving couples in North Carolina at two separate panel discussions in Charlotte on Thursday, May 29. The Campaign for Southern Equality, ACLU of NC and Equality NC have organized these events, both of which are open to the media.
“Taking on Amendment One Through Faith”
What: A panel discussion about General Synod of the United Church of Christ v. Cooper, a lawsuit filed in April in the Western District of North Carolina on behalf of the United Church of Christ (UCC) as a national denomination, clergy from across faith traditions, and same-sex couples who seek the freedom to marry. The case challenges the constitutionality of marriage laws in North Carolina – including Amendment One – that ban marriage between same-sex couples and make it illegal for clergy to perform such marriages.
Attorneys Jake Sussman and Luke Largess, lead counsel in the case, will provide an overview of the 1st and 14th Amendment claims made in the case and will also discuss the 4th Circuit landscape. Numerous plaintiffs in the case, both clergy and same-sex couples, will talk about their perspective on this legal challenge to Amendment One.
When: Thursday, May 29. 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Where: Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 1900 The Plaza, Charlotte, 28205
For more information: www.amendmentonechallenge.org
UPDATE: This event has been postponed: “Winning the Freedom to Marry in North Carolina”
What: A “Crucial Conversation” sponsored by NC Policy Watch, the ACLU of North Carolina, and Equality NC that will feature attorneys and plaintiffs, including a plaintiff couple from Charlotte, from two federal lawsuits the ACLU-NC Legal Foundation has filed in the Middle District of North Carolina against the North Carolina marriage ban. The first lawsuit, Fisher-Borne et al. v. Smith, was filed on behalf of six same-sex couples raising children together; the second, Gerber and Berlin et al. v. Cooper, was filed in April on behalf of three married, same-sex couples seeking state recognition of their marriages and asks the court to take swift action because of the serious medical condition of one member of each couple.
When: Thursday, May 29, at 12 noon
Where: Harris Hall at the Levine Museum of the New South, 200 E. Seventh St., Charlotte
For more information: http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2014/05/16/crucial-conversation-winning-the-freedom-to-marry-in-north-carolina/
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