The Associated Press

Feb 9, 2004 : 1:46 am ET

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Advocates of gay marriage believe it's only a matter of time before North Carolina and the rest of the country allow the practice.

"It's coming, we're not going to go backwards," said Asheville attorney Diane Walton, encouraged by last week's ruling from the Massachusetts Supreme Court that would allow gay marriages to start there in May.

The ruling would make Massachusetts the first state to give same-sex couples who marry the same legal rights as wedded heterosexual couples.

North Carolina does not recognize gay marriages.  California, Hawaii and New Jersey recognize domestic partnerships.  Vermont recognizes civil unions, a designation that does not encompass all legal rights that come with traditional marriage.

Walton and others said they expect gay couples who are married in Massachusetts to challenge North Carolina and federal law in coming years.

The most likely way a same-sex marriage could happen in North Carolina and elsewhere is when a gay couple from here marries in Massachusetts, then returns to North Carolina, said Ellen W. Gerber, a High Point attorney and member of North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Attorneys.

If that couple is denied some benefit available to heterosexual couples, such as filing taxes jointly, they are immediately poised for a lawsuit under the full faith and credit clause of the U.S. Constitution, she said.

Under full faith and credit, each states must recognize contracts and judicial proceedings, including marriages, in other states.

"It's about a gay couple wanting to do the very same thing their parents wanted to do when they got married," she said.  "Gays are no different than straights.  We want to make our commitments in front of God and the state and our community."

She questions the use of the Bible to condemn her lifestyle.

The Rev. James Roberts, pastor of Fairmount Baptist Church, believes God has the ultimate say on gay marriage.

"My viewpoint is the same as the Bible's - marriage is a bond between a man and a woman," he said.  "Any thing other than that is a crime against nature.

"But politicians often turn laws around to suit people.  If they legalize same-sex unions, they are saying it's OK."

That's one reason state Sen. James Forrester said he authored a bill that says North Carolina will not recognize gay marriages regardless of where they are performed.

The 1996 law also was in response to concerns that Hawaii was going to legitimize same-sex marriages, said the Republican senator, who represents Catawba, Gaston and Lincoln counties.

He doesn't believe the state Legislature will revisit same-sex marriage before 2005, in part because this year's session is short.

"I'm sure somebody will challenge it in the courts," said Forrester, who added he would be interested in strengthening North Carolina's law.