Four Republican lawmakers in North
Carolina filed a bill Tuesday that seeks to restore the state's ban
on same-sex marriage.
House Bill 780, titled Uphold
Historical Marriage Act, directs the state to ignore the U.S.
Supreme Court's landmark Obergefell ruling, which found that
gay and lesbian couples have a constitutional right to marry, The
Charlotte Observer reported. The bill states that the ruling
is “null and void in the State of North Carolina” because it
“exceeds the authority of the court relative to the decree of
Almighty God that 'a man shall leave his father and his mother and
hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh' (Genesis
2:24, ESV) and abrogates the clear meaning and understanding of
marriage in all societies throughout prior history.”
The bill directs the state to defy the
high court and enforce Amendment One, the 2012 voter-approved
constitutional amendment that limits marriage to heterosexual
couples.
Sponsors of the bill include
Representatives Larry Pittman, Michael Speciale, Carl Ford and Mike
Clampitt.
Democratic Governor Roy Cooper called
the bill “wrong.”
“We need more LGBT protections, not
fewer,” Cooper tweeted.