A bill would allow mayors to officiate at weddings.

Senate Bill 992 was sponsored by freshman Democratic Sen. Don Davis, the former mayor of Snow Hill, N.C.

The Senate had little debate on the issue, though Sen. Jim Forrester said that he had hoped to add an amendment that would have put a constitutional ban on gay marriage up for a statewide referendum.

Forrester filed a separate bill on the gay-marriage ban that Senate leadership essentially killed by leaving it in committee.

"If we don't get it in the constitution, I'm afraid it's going to happen to us just like Vermont," he said.

The bill passed 35-9 and now heads to the House.

Several other bills this session have also sought to expand who can perform weddings. One already signed into law by Gov. Beverly Perdue, allows Superior Court judges to officiate.

Another bill stuck in a House committee would have allowed any judge, while a third would allow retired judges. A Senate bill to allow any judge passed and is now before a House committee.

State judges are a step closer to having the right to officiate weddings.

The state Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill Monday night that would grant judges the authority, Dan Kane reports.

Each session lawmakers routinely pass bills granting a certain judge the right to perform a wedding on a particular weekend. Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand said that's a waste of time.

"We've had two such bills this session," said Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat. "We've had at least 10 in the last eight or nine years to do this and these individual bills just clog up the administration of what we are about and take up our time. This would allow judges to marry people if they want to."

The bill passed by a 39-5 vote. It now goes to the House.

Sen. Tony Rand has made good on his threat.

The Democratic majority leader filed this bill today:

S.B. 59: Any Judge/Justice May Perform Marriage

Rand had said that he would file that bill if state judges kept asking for exceptions to the law that only allows ordained ministers, Native American religious leaders and magistrates to officiate weddings.

Sen. Tony Rand is already annoyed about another marriage waiver.

The Senate Majority Leader said he gets hot under the collar when judges ask for special exemptions to the statutes that restrict them from performing weddings. 

"Either judges can conduct weddings, or judges can't conduct weddings," he told Dome. "The judges say they don't want to conduct weddings until junior wants to get married, and then they want us to make an exception."

A bill this year would allow retired state judges to perform weddings. Under state law, only ordained ministers, certain Native American religious leaders and magistrates can serve as officiants.

Rand noted that his son, Ripley, is a Superior Court judge.

"I have told him that if he ever suggests anything like that to me, I'm going to change my name," he said. 

Another theory why most judges can't officiate: They don't want to.

N.C. Bar Association spokesman Russell Rawlings said he's now heard a second theory on why judges higher than the magistrate level can't perform weddings.

He said that state law allowed it at one point, but elected judges felt that it was an imposition. Since they run for office regularly, they had a hard time saying no to requests from voters, but they felt it was a drain on their time.

"They felt they would end up marrying anyone who wanted to pop into a courtroom, get married and move on," he said.

Neither Rawlings nor Dome has yet found evidence to back up this theory in newspaper archives or on the legislative Web site.

A bill introduced this session would allow retired state judges to officiate.

Why can't most judges officiate at weddings?

Dome is looking into that question, but N.C. Bar Association spokesman Russell Rawlings had a theory.

"Back when this law started, there wasn't but one judge in many areas, especially up in the mountains," he said.

That could have put a judge in a conflict of interest if one of the people who he married showed up as part of a criminal or civil case — or even a divorce — in his courtroom, Rawlins speculated.

The state law dates to 1871. 

Previously: Bill would allow retired judges to officiate 

Judges have asked to perform weddings before.

In 2001, the legislature passed a bill allowing Superior Court judges to officiate at weddings from May 19 to May 28 of that year.

The bill was written to allow Duplin County Judge Russell Lanier to officiate at his daughter's wedding.

It was added as a provision to an omnibus bill amending marriage statutes signed into law just weeks before the scheduled wedding.

Under state law, only ordained ministers, certain Native American religious leaders and magistrates can serve as officiants — not any other type of judge.

Magistrates are the lowest level of the state's judicial system. Typically they issue arrest warrants, set bail, try small-claims cases and issue subpoenas. They also perform marriages for a small fee or between breaks at the county jailhouse.

(Dome once stumbled onto a late-night wedding while doing police rounds. The bride wore white; the groom, black; the magistrate, a sweater vest behind bulletproof glass.)

A bill introduced this session would allow retired state judges to officiate as well. Like the earlier legislation, it was also written to help a specific judge — in this case, retired N.C. Appeals Court Judge Eddie Greene.

Rep. Russell Tucker isn't trying to start something.

He just wants to help a friend.

The Lenoir County Democrat filed a bill this week that would allow certain retired judges to officiate at weddings in North Carolina.

He said the bill is intended to help his friend, retired N.C. Appeals Court Judge Eddie Greene. He's not even sure of the details.

"I have no idea who it is he wants to marry," he said.

The problem comes from the fact that under state law, only magistrates and ordained ministers can perform weddings. (Trust Dome. We ran into this statute planning our own wedding.)

The bill would create an odd legal scenario: A state judge couldn't perform a wedding — but a retired state judge could. Past legislation to expand officiants has run up against opposition from judges who would rather not have the extra duty.

Tucker said he didn't care about all that.

"I just think they should pass my bill and forget about the rest of that," he said.

A few more bills have been filed in the House:

H.B. 15: Military Family Assistance Center / Funds, Rep. Cullie Tarleton

H.B. 16: Retired Judge May Perform Marriage, Rep. Russell Tucker

H.B. 17: Asheboro Satellite Annexation, Rep. Harold Brubaker

H.B. 18: Speech Language Pathologist Qualifications, Rep. Bill Faison

H.B. 19: MLK's 80th Birthday / Obama Inauguration, Reps. Larry Womble, Paul Luebke, Jennifer Weiss, Earline Parmon

H.B. 20: Compensate Eugenics Sterilization Survivors, Reps. Womble, Parmon, Ronnie Sutton and Martha Alexander