North Carolina Representative introduces two bills aimed to protect same-sex marriages
“There are hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ adults in North Carolina. We are your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, church family, and more right here in Wilmington.”
NORTH CAROLINA (WWAY)–A local representative in the North Carolina House introduced two bills last Friday that aim to protect marriage equality in the Tar Heel State.
Representative Deb Butler from New Hanover County is one of the first openly gay members of the state House of Representatives.
H174 would repeal the state’s ban on same-sex marriage — which is still on the books despite being unenforceable thanks to a national ban on gay marriage put in place by the Supreme Court in 2015.
The second bill, H175, would ensure LQBTQ+ families are protected from any future legislation from taking away marriage rights.
Butler says she introduced the bills because of growing concerns about the future of gay rights.
“I filed the bills because I wanted to protect my community. I have a fear that the Trump administration is doing its best to dismantle years and generations of progress,” Butler said. “They’re letting folks know if you’re Black, Hispanic, if you gay, if you’re female, if you’re anything other than the typical white cisgender male, you’re in jeopardy.”
Wilmington City Councilman David Joyner is publicly backing the bill.
“There are hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ adults in North Carolina. We are your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, church family, and more right here in Wilmington,” added Councilman Joyner. “Same-sex couples deserve the dignity of hospital visitations, the predictability of estate planning. Hardworking LGBTQ people deserve the same spousal tax benefits as their peers.”
The ban remains in North Carolina laws, both in the statute and in the Constitution, and has been since June 26, 2015. That was the day the United States Supreme Court stated marriage equality as a right in Obergefell v. Hodges. If the United States Supreme Court were to revisit and overturn Obergefell, the State Constitutional restriction on marriage would return.
