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Just a few more hurdles remain for marriage equality in New Jersey. Organizers in North
Carolina have finally found a clerk willing to challenge the state's ban on marriage.
Marriage equality is coming to Oregon, even though you can't get married there yet. And
a new poll shows surprisingly strong support in Virginia.
For the American Foundation for Equal Rights, I'm Matt Baume, and welcome to Marriage News
Watch for October 18, 2013.
Well as of this week, we've picked up a fourteenth state where gay and lesbian couples can enjoy
the freedom to marry. The state of New Jersey began issuing licenses as of Monday, with
couples lining up to finally obtain legal recognition.
But this victory may not be final. Although Judge Mary Jacobson ruled that the state must
start issuing licenses, Governor Chris Christie is appealing the ruling. The state Supreme
Court will ultimately decide the issue, with arguments slated for early January of 2014.
That means we'll likely have to wait until the new year for the final word on New Jersey
marriage equality.
Just over a year ago, voters in North Carolina narrowly approved a constitutional amendment
prohibiting marriage equality. But equality organizers are now making rapid strides toward
reversing the ban. This week, a county clerk in Buncombe County announced that he will
accept a marriage license from a lesbian couple. But there's a catch: he won't actually sign
it. Instead, he'll send it to state Attorney General Roy Cooper for an opinion.
Cooper, for his part, says that he supports marriage equality, but he's bound to deny
the license due to the constitutional amendment. But his denial may open the door to a lawsuit
that could eventually overturn the ban.
Oregon is still a year away from voting to overturn its marriage ban, but this week officials
announced that they will begin recognizing out-of-state marriages. Voters in Virginia
overwhelmingly support the repeal of that state's marriage ban, by a margin of 56 percent
to 36 percent. And a judge in Arkansas has set a date of December 4th for a hearing in
a lawsuit against that state's ban on marriage.
Those are the headlines. Subscribe here on YouTube and at AFER.org for more on all these
stories. For the American Foundation for Equal Rights, I'm Matt Baume. See you next week.