Peter Boykin (@peterboykin)

North Carolina GOP Says, “Equality for All” Then Defends a Ban on Gay Marriage North Carolina Republicans still defend the state’s dormant gay-marriage ban even as their platform promises equality and liberty. Here is what the language says, what the law actually does, and why conservatives should protect both civil marriage and religious conscience. Keep the Conscience Shield. Drop the Government Ban. The Go Right with Peter Boykin Perspective https://gorightnews.com/north-carolina-gop-says-equality-for-all-then-defends-a-ban-on-gay-marriage/ North Carolina Republicans do not have to choose between religious liberty and gay Americans. That is a false choice, and it is politically self-defeating. The NCGOP should remove the plank endorsing the marriage amendment at its next platform convention. The General Assembly should repeal G.S. 51-1.2 and send voters a clean amendment removing Article XIV, Section 6 from the state constitution. At the same time, legislators should preserve a workable conscience protection for religious objectors, provided the government guarantees every qualified couple prompt and equal access to a license and civil ceremony. H174’s decision to pair marriage equality with repeal of the entire recusal statute makes an unnecessary fight. Split the issues. Repeal the government ban; keep a narrow conscience shield that cannot be used to deny public service. Republicans can still debate school curricula, parental authority, women’s sports, medical policy for minors, compelled speech, and the reach of anti-discrimination law. Those are separate questions. None requires the state to treat two law-abiding gay adults as strangers when they form a household, assume obligations, raise children, care for one another, or plan an estate. For Gays For Liberty, this is not a demand that churches rewrite doctrine or that conservatives adopt the entire progressive LGBTQ agenda. It is a demand for limited government, equal civil treatment, and freedom of conscience for everyone. For Gay Right News, the political warning is equally clear: platforms are recruiting documents. Telling gay Republicans that they are welcome while promising to defend a legal ban on their marriages is not coalition building. It is a mixed message written into party policy. A confident conservative movement should be able to protect the pulpit without controlling the courthouse. North Carolina Republicans should prove it. North Carolina Republicans still defend the state’s dormant gay-marriage ban even as their platform promises equality and liberty. Here is what the language says, what the law actually does, and why conservatives should protect both civil marriage and religious conscience. #GaysForLiberty, #GayRightNews, #NCGOP, #NorthCarolina, #MarriageEquality, #ReligiousLiberty, #LimitedGovernment, #ConservativeLGBT, #GoRightNews