A federal lawsuit with a different twist challenging North Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage was filed yesterday. In addition to same-sex couples, the plaintiffs are a religious denomination-- the United Church of Christ-- and individual clergy from UCC, Lutheran, Baptist, Unitarian-Universalist, and Reform Jewish congregations. The complaint (
full text) in
General Synod of the United Church of Christ v. Cooper, (WD NC, filed 4/28/2014), claims, among other things, that North Carolina law makes it a criminal offense for a member of the clergy to conduct a same-sex marriage ceremony, and that this infringes the free exercise and expressive associational rights of clergy whose religious teachings and beliefs embrace same-sex marriage. The same-sex couples also assert due process and equal protection claims. UCC has issued a
press release and created a
website with additional information on the case. The
Charlotte Observer also reports on the case.
[Thanks to Don Clark for the lead.]