Breaking news:
A federal judge in North Carolina has struck down the state's gay marriage ban as unconstitutional, opening the way for the first same-sex weddings in the state to begin immediately. U.S. District Court Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr., in Asheville issued a ruling Friday shortly after 5 p.m. declaring the ban approved by state voters in 2012 unconstitutional.
Though Cogburn's federal judicial district only covers the western third of the state, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said through a spokeswoman that the Asheville judge's order applies statewide.