Several local churches are protesting the ban on same-sex marriages in N.C. by discontinuing marriage ceremonies. 

Pullen Memorial Baptist Church on Hillsborough Street and Green Street Church in Winston-Salem are examples of local churches protesting current marriage laws.

Although Green Street received state-wide media coverage in March after they announced they would not perform heterosexual marriages, Pullen Memorial made the decision more than a year ago. 

In November 2011, in a unanimous vote, the Pullen Memorial decided to forgo all marriages until, “marriages between same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples will be treated equally.”

According to Justine Hollingshead, director of the GLBT Center at N.C. State, other churches, like St. Frances of Assisi in Raleigh, have come out in support the GLBT community, even if their particular religion is known to be against it.

“St. Frances of Assisi is affirming their support of the GLBT community, but because they are connected to the Catholic Church they can’t perform same-sex weddings,” Hollingshead said. 

Green Street Church is under the United Methodist Church, which limits marriages, weddings and holy unions to heterosexual couples. 

The church decided to fray from the head church, because “we, the leaders of Green Street Church, see people in same-sex relationships as completely worthy of the Sacrament of Marriage,” according to a press statement. 

Hollingshead said she believes that religion and law are being muddied together when it comes to same-sex marriage. 

“When you look at the religious piece, that is just one piece of a wedding ceremony,” Hollingshead said.

Although the church may disallow same-sex marriage, it has no effect on obtaining a marriage license.

“It is not uncommon, particularly at this point, where there are churches saying we won’t perform same-sex marriage ceremonies,” Hollingshead said. “That doesn’t mean that as same-sex couples you can’t go to the marriage bureau in Washington D.C., for example, and get a marriage license.”

Hollingshead said she thinks for some churches, a removal of Amendment One, which prohibited same-sex couples to marry, or the Defense of Marriage Act is going to have much of an impact on whether churches allow same-sex marriage ceremonies.

“I think it will help in the sense of allowing same-sex marriages to occur, because all this goes back to that contractual obligation that a marriage provides for,” Hollingshead said. 

Some churches may continue the disallowance of same-sex marriages, even if Amendment One is removed or Defense of Marriage Act was ruled unconstitutional. 

“I think that there will still be churches that will say they are not performing wedding ceremonies, and that is their right to do that as a religious entity,” Hollingshead said.   

Hollingshead said she think younger people will be the ones to drive churches to think about their stance on allowing same- sex marriages. 

“When you are looking across the board at people your age that you all are far more open-minded, far more at the place to say ‘this is really less than an issue who can get married and who can’t,’” Hollingshead said. “You view it more as inequality when someone in the community can’t get married.”

Rev. Nancy Petty of Pullen Memorial Baptist said in a press statement the church supports human rights and it is their duty to speak out against oppression.

“(Pullen Memorial’s) statement today on marriage equality continues their long-standing tradition of speaking out on behalf of God’s love, compassion, and justice in the world,” Petty said.