Gay marriage: Court rejects GOP claim in NC case

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A federal judge has rejected the claims of GOP leaders that North Carolina’s Democratic attorney general won’t adequately defend a state law that lets magistrates refuse to perform gay marriages based on their religious beliefs.

Attorney General Roy Cooper’s role in defending laws passed by the state’s GOP-led legislature has been a thorny issue in his campaign to unseat Republican Gov. Pat McCrory. Though Cooper has spoken out against that law, he has said he would defend it in court.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis Howell wrote Thursday that Cooper has aggressively fought for the law by seeking dismissal of plaintiffs’ claims that the measure is unconstitutional. Howell’s order denied an effort by state House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger, both Republicans, to intervene with private attorneys.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)