Oct 14, 2013
N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper Announces Support for Marriage Equality
Raleigh, N.C. - Following N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper’s weekend announcement that he supports full marriage equality for LGBT couples, Equality NC’s executive director Chris Sgro quickly praised Mr. Cooper’s most recent pro-equality endorsement as part of a broader trend in North Carolina towards embracing the freedom to marry for all.
"The Attorney General has long been an advocate for equal rights for all people and we applaud him for publicly aligning with a fast-growing majority of North Carolinians who now support the legal relationship recognitions between committed LGBT couples," said Sgro.
A Public Policy Poll released earlier this year (February 2013) found that a strong majority (63%) of North Carolinians now support some form of legal relationship recognitions for same-sex couples – up from 53% from a poll taken prior to the May 2012 primary vote.
The attorney general's announcement comes only one day after the North Carolina Family Policy Council - one of several far right-wing groups working against equal rights at the North Carolina General Assembly - announced a protest of the Equality NC Foundation's November 9, Equality Gala where Attorney General Cooper is scheduled to be the keynote speaker.
“The NC Family Policy Council is an extremist group that represents a small minority of North Carolinians. Their attempt to bully our state’s attorney general mirrors their constant efforts to marginalize LGBT North Carolinians. And, as history has consistently proven, these fruitless efforts will not deter a single fair-minded North Carolinian in our collective fight for equality," added Sgro.
Cooper, who is widely expected to run for North Carolina’s gubernatorial seat in 2016 - telling the Asheville Citizen Times on October 5, “It’s a little early to make a formal announcement, but certainly that’s in the plans” - also publicly opposed Amendment One, the state’s 2012 constitutional ban on the freedom to marry currently being challenged in federal court, calling it “unclear, unwise and unnecessary” (http://bit.ly/Ie9DFO).
The announcement of Cooper as keynote speaker at the 2013 Equality NC Foundation Gala has spurred both local and national interest in the annual pro-equality evening event, held this year in downtown Greensboro, N.C. Interested parties are encouraged to register for the November 9, Gala at: http://equalityncfoundation.org/gala.
REGISTER NOW to be a part of this historic night as the biggest names in North Carolina's pro-equality movement take the stage for one special evening of celebration and inspiration to move our state forward for Equality.
