NORTH CAROLINA: All Magistrates In McDowell County Refuse To Officiate At Any Marriages

Back in May, the GOP-dominated state legislature of North Carolina passed a law which allows magistrates to opt out of performing all marriages as long as someone else is available to perform those duties. That’s not working out so well for McDowell County. Newsweek reports:

Officials in McDowell County in North Carolina are being forced to ship in magistrates from neighboring Rutherford County after all four of McDowell’s magistrate judges recused themselves from performing marriages—gay, straight or otherwise. The magistrates invoked their rights not to perform marriages under the state’s religious exemption law, which allows every magistrate “the right to recuse from performing all lawful marriages…based upon any sincerely held religious objection.” “Every single one has said they will opt out and won’t do the marriages,” Chief District Judge Randy Pool told local television station WLOS. A Rutherford County magistrate told WLOS that he and another magistrate have been driving back and forth three times a week to perform marriages in McDowell. State law requires the county to provide magistrates to perform marriages a minimum of 10 hours per week.

Hate groups have been pointing to North Carolina’s law as the “solution” to Kim Davis’ religious objections.