@NCCapitol
Same-sex marriage: Ansley v. Warren
The case challenges a North Carolina law that allows magistrates and workers for local register of deeds offices to opt out of facilitating same-sex marriages.
Case name: Ansley v. Warren
What it's about: Government employees refusing to perform same-sex marriages
State or federal court: Federal, 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Summary: In the wake of federal court orders legalizing gay marriage, North Carolina lawmakers passed legislation allowing magistrates to opt out of performing same-sex weddings and allowed workers for county register of deeds offices to opt out of issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. A group of individuals challenged the law in federal court.
In the real world: North Carolina's magistrate recusal law is in effect.
Where it stands: The 4th Circuit dismissed the lawsuit in June 2017, ruling that none of the couples who sued over the law had been harmed by it and therefore lacked standing to challenge it.
