Judge lifts stays in NC gay marriage cases

MICHAEL BIESECKER
Associated Press

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — A federal judge in North Carolina has lifted stays in two cases challenging the state’s ban on same-sex marriages, a possible sign he’s preparing to strike down the prohibition as unconstitutional.

Chief US District Court Judge William L. Osteen, Jr. issued an order Wednesday lifting his earlier stays and dismissing all motions in the cases. The move came after the office of North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper filed documents with the court essentially dropping all further defense of the 2012 ban approved by voters.

Osteen had issued the stays in July, after Virginia’s same-sex marriage ban was struck down by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, which has jurisdiction over North Carolina. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear an appeal of the Virginia case.

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