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As NC Legislature Begins, Gay Marriage Takes Center Stage

AP/Gerry Broome
NC Senate Leader Phil Berger

Gay marriage is front and center on this year's first real work day at the North Carolina General Assembly.

Senate leader Phil Berger filed a bill Wednesday that would allow magistrates to refuse to preside at same-sex weddings and assistant registers of deeds to not issue licenses based on religious convictions. But they wouldn't be involved in traditional marriages either.

Berger had said he'd file a recusal bill after judges last October struck down North Carolina's constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

Berger told The Associated Press in an interview the exemption to preside at all marriages ensures court officials aren't picking and choosing whom they will wed.

Democratic lawmakers and the gay-rights group Equality North Carolina held a news conference Wednesday opposing the bill, saying it's discrimination in disguise.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.
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