James Gulick: Cooper was wise to stop defending gay-marriage ban

Two important and welcome decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court in two days.

First, the Supreme Court, in a properly judicious fashion, rejected the ludicrous challenge to the Affordable Care Act, interpreting its ambiguity to fulfill the legislative purpose of providing affordable care. The chief justice’s majority opinion is a textbook example of proper construction of ambiguity in a statute. It is time for North Carolina to quit fighting this law.

Second, the Supreme Court upheld every lower federal court decision in the country by holding unconstitutional bans against gay marriages, marriages that hurt no one and protect a small, much persecuted minority.

One year ago, following the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision overturning Virginia’s gay marriage ban, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said his office would no longer defend North Carolina’s gay marriage ban. “All federal courts have rejected these arguments each and every time,” Cooper said. “So it’s time for the state of North Carolina to stop making them.”

Although Cooper was much criticized by Republicans for that decision, his wisdom in making it has been fully vindicated.

This story was originally published July 5, 2015 at 2:06 PM with the headline "James Gulick: Cooper was wise to stop defending gay-marriage ban."