Today Liberty Counsel filed a motion for the second time to intervene in a lawsuit against a North Carolina law that provides a religious accommodation for magistrates who object to officiating or granting marriage licenses for same-sex couples. After Liberty Counsel filed intervention the first time, the ACLU withdrew the suit and then refiled it.

Attorney General Roy Cooper, who is legally responsible to defend state law, has made public statements against state law SB 2 and has even made vetoing it a part of his campaign platform in his candidacy for governor.

Last year Liberty Counsel filed suit against the state of North Carolina on behalf of the magistrates, seeking to protect their religious freedom. In response, the House and the Senate passed a law to accommodate the magistrates. Now the ACLU has filed suit against the law, seeking to eliminate the accommodation.

Liberty Counsel is representing, among others, Judge Brenda Bumgarner, who has an excellent record during her 10 years of service as a magistrate. The magistrates should not be forced to violate their conscience, especially where there are reasonable options to accommodate their deeply held religious convictions.