All the magistrates in one North Carolina county have taken advantage of a new law and “opted-out” of marrying same-sex couples. So what happens?
All four magistrate judges in McDowell County, North Carolina have decided to not marry same-sex couples, taking advantage of a law that allows them to “opt-out” as long as they do not perform any marriages for any couples at all, for at least six months.
Hilary Hollifield, Thomas Atkinson, Debbie Terrell and Chad Johnson, WLOS reports today, have all signed the opt-out form.
That means that a neighboring county’s magistrates have to drive nearly 50 miles round trip several days a week to ensure couples – same-sex and different-sex – can marry during the hours the office is scheduled to perform those services.
There is definitely a cost to taxpayers, in fuel and mileage reimbursement, per diem charges, training, and likely other expenses, as one activist opposed to SB2, the law allowing them to opt-out, told WLOS. And there is a cost to locals who want to marry but are confined to short amounts of time during the week when a substitute magistrate is covering.
This “solution” from North Carolina has been supported by anti-gay activists in the wake of the Kim Davis story. Davis is the Rowan County clerk jailed for six days on a contempt of court charge for refusing to marry same-sex couples.
SB2 was heavily sponsored and promoted by the President pro tempore of the North Carolina Senate, Phil Berger. Sen. Berger is an anti-gay activist who has spent his years in the North Carolina Senate attacking the LGBT community.
To date, 32 magistrates across the state have chosen to officially declare they will not marry same-sex couples, or any couples, per the law’s attempt to not appear discriminatory.
North Carolina’s Governor vetoed SB2 but Berger was able to garner enough votes to override it this past June. He has voted against an anti-bullying law and for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
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Image: Screenshot via WLOS
Hat tip:Â Str8Grandmother/Twitter