North Carolina § 51-1 - 2. (See Editor's note) Marriages between persons of the same gender not valid.

§ 51-1. 2. (See Editor's note) Marriages between persons of the same gender not valid.

Marriages, whether created by common law, contracted, or performed outside of North Carolina, between individuals of the same gender are not valid in North Carolina. History (1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 588, s. 1.) Editor's Note. - In Obergefell v. Hodges , 135 S. Ct. 2584, 192 L. Ed. 2d 609, 2015 U.S. LEXIS 4250 (2015), the United States Supreme Court held that the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex licensed and performed out-of-state. For prior Fourth Circuit case law on this issue, see Bostic v. Schaefer , 760 F.3d 352 (4th Cir. 2014), cert. denied, 2014 U.S. LEXIS 6405 (2014), invalidating the Commonwealth of Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage on due process and equal protection grounds. Legal Periodicals. - For article, "Distinctions of Form or Substance: Monogamy, Polygamy and Same-Sex Marriage," see 75 N.C.L. Rev. 1501 (1997). For comment, "Out of Step: Why Pulliam v. Smith Should Be Overruled to Hold All North Carolina Parents - Gay and Straight - to the Same Custody Standard," see 87 N.C.L. Rev. 257 (2008). For article, "The Equal Access Act Requires Equal Access for All: Why the Rowan-Salisbury School System's Policy Against 'Sex-Based' Clubs, Developed to Ban Gay-Straight Alliances, Is Illegal," see 33 N.C. Cent. L. Rev. 137 (2011). For article, "'Deja Vu All Over Again': The Recourse to Biology by Opponents of Transgender Equality," see 95 N.C.L. Rev. 1161 (2017). For article, "Equal Dignity and Unequal Protection: A Framework for Analyzing Disparate Impact Claims,” see 68 Duke L.J. Online 149 (2019). Opinions of Attorney General Penalties for Issuance of Marriage Licenses to Individuals of Same Gender. - A register of deeds would violate North Carolina law in issuing a marriage license to persons of the same gender and if, in issuing such a license, the register of deeds operates in bad faith he may subject himself to the penalties provided in G.S. 161-27. See opinion of Attorney General to Mr. Willie L. Covington, Register of Deeds, Durham County Courthouse, 2004 N.C.A.G. 2 (3/29/04).