Greensboro Judge (Finally) Strikes Down Gay Marriage Ban

In Greensboro on Tuesday, District Court Judge William Osteen finally issued his ruling on North Carolina’s same-sex marriage ban – declaring it unconstitutional, just as Judge Max Cogburn in Asheville did last Friday.

Before Friday, it was actually the Greensboro case that was being watched most closely, and many court observers were surprised that it was Cogburn who ruled first. Cogburn’s ruling effectively legalized same-sex marriage across the state, making Osteen’s case virtually a moot point.

But in his ruling, Osteen also found that State Senator Phil Berger and State House Speaker Thom Tillis do have the authority to intervene to continue trying to defend the state’s ban on gay marriage in court. That decision allows Berger and Tillis to appeal, if they so choose – though any appeal would go to the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has already declared that bans on same-sex marriage violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Either way, Judge Cogburn’s decision on Friday already opened the door to same-sex marriage across the state – and same-sex couples have already been applying for (and receiving) marriage licenses all week.