Governor Pat McCrory isn't backing bills giving exemptions to court officials who decline to perform certain marriages and offering other religious protections to businesses.
McCrory said Monday he wouldn't sign in its current form a Senate bill that allows magistrates and some register of deeds workers to refuse to carry out marriage duties based on a "sincerely held religious objection." Gay-rights advocates say the measure upholds discrimination.
McCrory said on WFAE radio in Charlotte there can't be carve-outs for people who swear to uphold the Constitution. A bill still becomes law when a governor declines to sign it.
Broader bills filed attempt to protect the rights of business owners or government officials from carrying out laws based on their religious freedoms. McCrory says he's yet to see the problems sponsors want to correct.
