Alysse ElHage | November 17, 2014 | SHARE: 
The Gaston County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution last week opposing the court-ordered redefinition of marriage in North Carolina and encouraging support for the legal defense of the state’s marriage laws in court. The resolution, which was introduced by Commissioner Jason Williams, states in part: “the Gaston County Board of Commissioners recognizes its constitutional duty to uphold the law, however, the Board remains resolved in their efforts to defend the tradition of marriage and will strongly support and advocate on behalf of the appeals being brought forward by North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis and Senate Leader Phil Berger.” The Gaston County commissioners approved the resolution in a unanimous vote at a meeting on Thursday, November 13.
“In 2012 we passed a resolution saying we support a marriage between a man and a woman,” Commissioner Williams told WCNC News. “We didn’t want to send mix messages to the public. We plan to comply with the law, but we want to let them know, we still stand for what we stood for before.”
The two-page resolution also expresses the Gaston County commissioners’ opposition to the October 10 federal court ruling striking down North Carolina’s marriage protection laws, and “encourages all those that recognize the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman as the only valid domestic legal union recognized in this state, to voice their opposition to this ruling.” Additionally, the resolution urges state leaders and “the other 99 counties” to “join in their support of the appeal that will allow the voice of more than 60 percent of North Carolina’s voters, who cast their vote in support of the 2012 amendment, to be heard.”
