Good news . . . and bad news!
The North Carolina House passed SB 2, on May 28, by a vote of 67 to 43. Earlier this year, the North Carolina Senate passed SB 2 by a vote of 32 to 16. We applaud the North Carolina General Assembly for passing this pro-religious liberty legislation.
The bad news: Gov. Pat McCrory vetoed SB 2 the same day this legislation passed the House, stating: “I recognize that for many North Carolinians, including myself, opinions on same-sex marriage come from sincerely held religious beliefs that marriage is between a man and a woman. However, we are a nation and a state of laws. Whether it is the president, governor, mayor, a law enforcement officer, or magistrate, no public official who voluntarily swears to support and defend the Constitution and to discharge all duties of their office should be exempt from upholding that oath; therefore, I vetoed Senate Bill 2.”
Mario Diaz, CWA Legal Counsel says, “If Governor McCrory wants to talk laws, he should give the Civil Rights Act of 1964 a read. There he would find that Title VII upholds our country’s great tradition of religious liberty by requiring employers to accommodate an employee’s sincerely-held religious beliefs, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship.”
SB 2 is “an act to allow magistrates, assistant registers of deeds, and deputy registers of deeds to recuse themselves from performing duties related to marriage ceremonies due to sincerely held religious objection.”
Bottom line: SB 2 will ensure that the religious liberties of magistrates and registers of deeds are protected. This bill ensures that magistrates and registers of deeds would not have to choose between quitting their jobs and violating their deeply held religious convictions by being forced to marry or assign licenses to same-sex couples.
View CWA’s hard hitting press release put out June 1 in response to Gov. McCrory’s veto and statement.
What now? CWA of North Carolina urges the North Carolina Senate and North Carolina House to override the Governor’s veto of Senate Bill 2.
Take action!
- Check and see how your representative and senator voted on SB 2. If they voted for it, thank them and encourage them to aggressively support the override if it comes up for a vote. If they voted against it, kindly express your disapproval and ask them to vote to override the Governor’s veto if it comes up for a vote. This kind of feedback to the legislators strengthens the courage of those who voted for it and lets those who voted against it know that we are watching them and we need for them to change their vote if the opportunity arises. Don’t know who your legislators are or how to contact them? No problem. Click here to find out.
- Please call 919-814-2050 and respectfully express your disapproval over the Governor’s veto of SB 2. Use statements from our press release if you would like. He needs to hear from us.
- Attend CWA of North Carolina’s Day at the Capital Wednesday, June 3. We will be covering this very topic. Click here for more information.
- Please pass this action alert on to all your like-minded friends, family, pastors etc. immediately and ask them to take action.
CWA supports the God-given rights of individuals in the United States and other nations to pray, worship, and express their beliefs without fear of discrimination or persecution.
Every American is guaranteed the freedom to live and work consistent with their faith without unnecessary government interference. The government shouldn’t have a license to punish Americans for exercising these basic civil rights.
PRAY!
- Please pray for your representative and senator by name. Pray they will support an override of the Governor’s veto of SB 2.
- Pray the Governor will see the error of his ways.
Your faithful prayers and support are greatly appreciated, as together we make a difference to support religious liberty legislation in our great state.
As you may know, CWA of North Carolina is run by all volunteers. Therefore, all contributions go directly to the work at hand. Please consider donating to CWA today. Mail to CWA of North Carolina, P.O. Box 472903, Charlotte, NC 28247. Or, make it easy, donate online.
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” 2 Corinthians 3:17
For Liberty in Christ!