RALEIGH (AP) — Lawyers on both sides of a federal lawsuit over North Carolina’s 2012 prohibition of same-sex marriages say they are closely studying recent court rulings overturning similar bans in other states.
A spokeswoman for Attorney General Roy Cooper said Wednesday his office is reviewing Tuesday’s ruling that Oklahoma’s ban is unconstitutional. A judge in Utah struck down that state’s ban last month. Both rulings are on appeal.
The American Civil Liberties Union has sued on behalf of six North Carolina couples challenging a state rule forbidding a same sex partner from adopting his or her partner’s biological child. That case also includes the state’s 2012 ban on same-sex marriages.
ACLU lawyer Rose Saxe says she is heartened by the recent rulings, which raised legal issues similar to the North Carolina case.