Lt. Governor Dan Forest on Friday's Court Decision (News Release) -- Friday, an unelected federal judge violated the foundational principles of this great nation. … The courts have essentially stated that a man “marrying" another man, or a woman another woman, is rooted in our nation’s traditions and history, inferring that states have no interest in the preservation of marriage as an exclusive union between a man and a woman. This strains credulity. Our people will either submit themselves fully to a federal oligarchy of unelected judges or stand up and proclaim that federalism is alive and well. I hope that you will join me in standing against judicial tyranny, and fight to restore the balance of power intended in the Constitution of the United States.
http://www.ltgov.nc.gov/Newsroom/tabid/3116/EntryId/636/Lt-Governor-Dan-Forest-on-Fridays-Court-Deci...

Lt. Gov. Forest Hosting Town Hall Meetings To Discuss Convention Of States (N.C. Political News) — Lt. Gov. Dan Forest will be joined by constitutional scholar Michael Farris at two upcoming townhall style events to discuss the many arguments for and against the Convention of States Project. Michael Farris is the Chancellor of Patrick Henry College and Chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association. He was the founding president of each organization. Farris is a constitutional appellate litigator who has served as lead counsel in arguments before the United States Supreme Court, eight federal circuit courts, and the appellate courts of 13 states. He has been a leader on Capitol Hill for over 30 years and is widely known for his leadership on homeschooling, religious freedom, and the preservation of American sovereignty.
http://www.ncpoliticalnews.com/?p=11239

‘We do (Greensboro News & Record) -- The grooms stood in front of a minister in a corner of the Guilford County Register of Deeds office shortly before 7 p.m. and affirmed during their vows that there was no legal reason they couldn’t be wed — hours after a judge struck down North Carolina’s ban on same-sex marriages. And just like that, history was made.
http://www.news-record.com/news/videos-we-do/article_e3d7c636-50c0-11e4-b540-001a4bcf6878.html

Gay Marriages Allowed to Proceed in Idaho (New York Times) -- In two terse sentences, the court denied Idaho officials’ request to block the Ninth Circuit’s decision striking down bans on same-sex marriage. … Those ripples reached Colorado and West Virginia this week, where same-sex marriages have already started, and North Carolina, where a federal judge on Friday struck down the state’s ban based on one of the appeals court decisions that the Supreme Court had let stand on Monday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/11/us/politics/supreme-court-lifts-stay-on-same-sex-marriages-in-idah...

U.S. SUPREME COURT ORDERS ON VOTING LAW
Supreme Court upholds North Carolina's new limits on voting (LA Times) -- North Carolina can enforce new, strict voting restrictions adopted by the state's Republican leaders and opposed by civil rights advocates, the U.S. Supreme Court said Wednesday. The justices lifted a lower court order by a 7-2 vote. The state can end same-day registration for new voters and bar the counting of ballots cast in the wrong precinct, even if they involve statewide races. A third provision of the law, which was not under challenge this week, will reduce the days for early voting from 17 to 10. In dissent, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor said these measures are likely to have a discriminatory effect on black voters. Ginsburg said the Voting Rights Act of 1965 had "worked to safeguard long-obstructed access to the ballot by African Americans" by blocking such election-law changes in the South. But the court voided that "pre-clearance" rule" last year in a 5-4 decision. North Carolina's GOP-controlled Legislature had adopted a series of changes to the election rules, but until Wednesday it was unclear whether they would take effect this fall.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-supreme-court-upholds-north-carolina-voting-20141008-story.html

Thom Tillis Trailer Park Deal Shows 'What Conflict Of Interest Is All About’ (Huffington Post) – Republican U.S. Senate candidate and state House Speaker Thom Tillis bought a trailer park in early 2007 -- an investment he hoped would increase in value while providing him rental income. But now, as he presses his run for the Senate, the story of that trailer park may cause voters to question whether Tillis used the trappings of his office as a state legislator for personal gain. That's because in the months after he bought the trailer park, Tillis introduced state legislation and sought political compromises that likely would have increased the value of his property. … Tillis' involvement in legislation with the potential to affect his personal portfolio complicates Republican attacks against his opponent, Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), who has been accused of profiting from federal stimulus funds. That Tillis wasn't forthcoming about his potential conflict at the time -- he would disclose the property a year later when he was required to by law as part of his ethics disclosure forms -- also has raised concerns from government watchdogs. "The problem is that as Tillis was advocating a bill that would impact his property value, he should have disclosed his ownership," said Bob Hall, executive director of Democracy North Carolina, a good-government advocacy group with a history of calling out both Democrats and Republicans on ethical lapses. Tillis' actions may not have violated North Carolina's lax ethics laws, but Hall said his conduct nevertheless left a bad impression.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/06/thom-tillis-real-estate-conflict_n_5929934.html

Parties Target Voters Who Skip Midterms (Wall Street Journal) -- With polls showing a low regard for Washington and weak interest in the midterm election, both parties say victory, more than ever, may go to whoever does the better job nudging tentative voters to the polls.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/both-parties-target-voters-who-skip-midterm-elections-1412367022

Nuns on the Bus to support voting rights in NC (AP) — A group of nuns who tour the country talking about various social justice issues is coming to Raleigh in support of voting rights.
http://www.news-record.com/news/north_carolina_ap/nuns-on-the-bus-to-support-voting-rights-in-nc/art...