Legal Question in Civil Litigation in North Carolina

Who is the individual? You mean the county registrar who issues marriage licenses? You sue them in their official capacity, not personal.

I personally think it is a violation of the equal protection clause for states to refuse to marry anyone. As long as the state is in the marriage business and is issuing licenses, then the state has no right to treat gay or lesbians different than heterosexual couples.

However, we live in the Baptist Bible Belt and these people are not much different than the Taliban when it comes to religion. Both want to enforce their religion on others.

Yes, you can sue. But you should not sue in state court. Sue in federal court because this involves a federal constitutional issue under the 5th amendment equal protection clause as applied to the states via the 14th amendment.

Know that you will be facing an uphill battle - the 4th Circuit is very very conservative as is the district court and do not expect a favorable ruling from either body. Further, litigation is very very expensive. This is not something you should try to do yourself. If you do not have the funds for a lawyer, try the ACLU or try the nearest chapter of a gay and lesbian group.

I iwsh you good luck.