Asheville, N.C. (February 14, 2014) – Last night, Judge Arenda Wright Allen of U.S. District Court in Virginia struck down Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage stating that it is in violation of the U.S. Constitution. In striking down the law, Judge Wright wrote, “Our Constitution declares that ‘all men’ are created equal.” In her 41-page opinion, she also struck at the heart of the law, “Gay and lesbian individuals share the same capacity as heterosexual individuals to form, preserve and celebrate loving, intimate and lasting relationships.”
This move, along with recent court rulings in Kentucky, Oklahoma and Utah striking down state bans on same-sex marriage, highlights that North Carolina’s Amendment One is also unconstitutional.
Furthermore, just this week the Governor and Attorney General of Nevada ceased to defend their state’s ban on same-sex marriage. “After thoughtful review and analysis, the state has determined that its arguments grounded upon equal protection and due process are no longer sustainable,” said Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto on February 11. Prior to the court ruling in Virginia, Attorney General Mark Herring’s office refused to defend Virginia’s ban against same-sex marriage.
The Campaign for Southern Equality is calling for North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper to take the same course of action.
“Week by week it becomes increasingly clear that Amendment One and states’ bans on same-sex marriage are in violation of the U.S. Constitution. It is time for NC Attorney General Cooper to cease his defense of Amendment One, an unjust law that will ultimately be ruled unconstitutional,” says Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Executive Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality.
“The sole purpose of Amendment One is to deny lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals equal rights and protections under the law. Every day that it stays on the books, it harms LGBT families. This is precisely why this law cannot stand and should not be defended.”
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Based in the South, the Campaign for Southern Equality (CSE) is a national effort to assert the full humanity and equality of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in American life and to increase public support for LGBT rights.
