Judge rules against cohabitation law:
"Those of you shacking up, have no fear: A judge has thrown out a 201-year-old North Carolina law making it illegal for unmarried couples to live together."
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"I am absolutely thrilled with the court's decision," Hobbs, 41, said in a statement. "I just didn't think it was any of my employer's business whether I was married or not, as long as I was good at my job, and I am happy that no one else will ever have to be subjected to this law. I couldn't believe that I was being given this ultimatum to choose between my boyfriend or my livelihood because the sheriff was enforcing a 201-year-old law that clearly violates my civil rights."
Of course, they had to then, for "balance" interview a local co-habitant of a spiky dildo:
Others were less thrilled. "I think it's terrible," said the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina.
"It was simply judicial activism at its best. That knocked down the law that is a cornerstone of state marriage policy. The law emphasizes that marriage is the family structure that ought to be encouraged because that is the best institution for family, children and society."
"What the judge actually did was undermine marriage," said Creech, who cited studies that concluded that those who live together first before marriage are less likely to stay married.
At least they finish with a piece of modern 21st century thinking:
"The Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas stands for the proposition that the government has no business regulating relationships between two consenting adults in the privacy of their own home," said Jennifer Rudinger, executive director of the ACLU of North Carolina, which represented Hobbs. "North Carolina's cohabitation law is not only patently unconstitutional, but the idea that the government would criminalize people's choice to live together out of wedlock in this day and age defies logic and common sense."
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