While Couples Wait, Judge Gives GOP Deadline To Make Case Against Gay Marriage

A federal judge overseeing a pair of challenges to North Carolina's gay marriage ban denied a motion late Thursday from lawyers for Republican legislative leaders seeking more than a weeklong delay in the case.

Chief U.S. District Court Judge William Osteen Jr. in Greensboro issued a ruling shooting down a request from House Speaker Thom Tillis and Senate leader Phil Berger that they be given until Oct. 17 to prepare arguments supporting their motion to intervene in the lawsuits. Instead, Osteen gave them until noon today.

Virginia and North Carolina have similar bans against gay marriage. In July, the 4^th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Virginia's ban, and on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of that case. That opened the door for same-sex marriage in Virginia. Now many believe it's just a matter of time before North Carolina's ban is found to be unconstitutional.

In Guilford County, couples gathered in a county office waiting for word that they can apply to be legally married. Jeff Thigpen is the register of deeds. He says his office is prepared to issue those licenses as soon as it gets the okay from the courts.

“What I think is very important is that our Constitution is speaking now," Thigpen says. "We're at a place where we're not trying to change the Constitution; we're trying to rely on it. And these couples who are outside are not people who want shotgun weddings. They've been together 10, 15, 20 years and all they want is to stand up before their family and friends and commit their lives to one another. And they want to be able to be treated equally under the law.”

Meanwhile, Republican leaders have vowed to fight on. The Charlotte Observer reports that GOP leaders have hired John Eastman – chairman of the National Organization for Marriage and an outspoken critic of same-sex marriage – to help defend the state's ban.