Right choice: Governor's veto not about the issue of gay marriage

You can be against the issue of gay marriage.

You can say that marriage should be between a man and a woman and that no federal law should interfere in any way with a state vote.

And you can campaign to make sure that such unions are not legal in North Carolina -- if that is what you believe.

But if you are a magistrate who is charged with upholding the laws of the state of North Carolina -- and who is tasked with performing certain duties in that office -- you cannot refuse to perform marriages that are legally allowed.

And if you don't want to perform such marriages because they violate your religious beliefs, then that is fine, too.

But you cannot be a magistrate.

Although there is still going to be much talk about the issue of legalizing same sex marriage -- and who has the final say on whether it will remain in North Carolina -- the bottom line is that Gov. Pat McCrory's veto was not about the issue itself.

It was about the law.

If you are going to be a magistrate in the state of North Carolina, you have to perform the tasks associated with the job, period.

There still is room for discussion about private businesses that do not want to be part of gay marriage ceremonies -- do those with religious views that preclude such ceremonies have the right to say no? That still has to be decided.

And there is also the question, too, about the rights of Christians. Do they also have the right to express their religious beliefs and to be supported in that expression with the same zeal?

There will be much more debate on this and other issues involving same sex marriage. And there will be other grounds on which to stand firm.

This is not one of them.

The governor is right. A magistrate is sworn to uphold the laws of the state -- even the ones he or she does not like.

If performing those duties is a violation of a person's religious beliefs, he or she should choose another job.

And that, not the issue of gay marriage, is the bottom line.

Published in Editorials on May 29, 2015 10:45 AM