JEFF THIGPEN
"The Guilford County Register of Deeds is a defendant in the Gerber and Berlin v. Cooper complaint filed in U.S. District Court Middle District of North Carolina in Greensboro on April 9th. Yesterday, Attorney General Roy Cooper asked Judge Peake to delay this case in order for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to rule on whether Virginia’s marriage ban is unconstitutional.
Guilford County’s response to Attorney General Cooper’s request has been neither to support nor oppose this request based on our position the Guilford County Register of Deeds is prepared to abide by the Court’s decision. In my capacity as Register of Deeds, I am committed to carry out the law.
I urge Judge Peake and the Attorney General to act swiftly as possible to resolve this matter based on the serious life threatening medical conditions of three members in the case. Ms. Pearl Berlin is 89 years old and in increasingly deteriorating health. Ms. Jane Blackburn has been diagnosed with Stage IV Cancer. In addition, Major Esmeralda Mejia has experienced liver failure and been unable to take family medical leave because her marriage is not recognized in North Carolina. This complaint also has a direct impact on the legal protections and potential harm for Major Mejia’s 7 year old son.
The resolution of this complaint is time sensitive and needs to be resolved quickly. I pray we would all act speedily to uphold what is at the heart of all of our values as a people—that we treat each other the way we’d want to be treated. In addition, we’d uphold the central value of who we are as a nation: that we are all created equal."
Submitted by Jeff Thigpen Campaign
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