Republican North Carolina lawmakers file bill to reinstate same-sex marriage ban

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Posted: Apr 11, 2017 / 05:47 PM EDT / Updated: Apr 11, 2017 / 05:47 PM EDT

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RALEIGH, N.C. — A bill filed Tuesday by four North Carolina House Republicans would reinstate the state constitution’s ban on same-sex marriage.

House Bill 780, titled “Uphold Historical Marriage Act,” would direct the state government to defy a United States Supreme Court ruling.

The bill says that the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage will be “null and void in the State of North Carolina, and that the State of North Carolina shall henceforth uphold and enforce Section 6 of Article XIV of the North Carolina Constitution, the opinion and objection of the United States Supreme Court notwithstanding.”

The bill also quotes the Bible, saying the ruling “exceeds the authority of the court relative to the decree of Almighty God that ‘a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh’ (Genesis 2:24, ESV) and abrogates the clear meaning and understanding of marriage in all societies throughout prior history.”

Republican Representatives Larry Pittman of Concord, Michael Speciale of New Bern, Carl Ford of Rowan County and Mike Clampitt of Bryson City support the bill.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper spoke out against the bill on Tuesday, tweeting, “This bill is wrong. We need more LGBT protections, not fewer.”