The state Senate passed Senate Bill 2 today. This legislation, now headed to the state House, would allow magistrates to take a pass on doing their jobs if they didn't want to marry certain taxpaying North Carolinians.

It would allow magistrates and registrars of deeds to recuse themselves from dealing with same-sex marriages because of “any sincerely held religious objection.”

BREAKING NEWS: Registration is now open. Go here.

The 2015 Libertarian Party of North Carolina State Convention is fast approaching. Here's a sample of what's on tap.

National chair Nicolas Sarwark will be our first speaker. The topic of his address will be “Show Up, Be Nice, Win.” Born in 1979, Nicholas is an unabashed, second generation Libertarian with a strong commitment to fighting on the party’s behalf against unfair ballot access obstacles and exclusion of qualified candidates from public debates.

By Windy McKinney

Issues such as gun rights, medical marijuana legalization and excessive taxation have galvanized liberty-minded folks across the mountains into getting politically active, speaking up, and defending their own rights and the rights of others.

One particular affiliate, Henderson County, has set the pace for county affiliates across Western North Carolina. The Libertarian Party of Henderson County regularly attends gun shows and marijuana legalization rallies.

Credited with the revival of the local Libertarian Party in 2011, Henderson County Libertarian chair, nurse, and former soldier Shelby Mood ran for a state House seat in District 117 in 2014, bringing attention to the issues mentioned above -- gun rights, excessive taxation, and the damage caused by the state's attitude toward marijuana use.

From Antiwar.com

The Obama administration is pushing to pass their AUMF, an authorization for the use of military force against the "Islamic State" – a gang of thugs in a world of thugs that represents no particular threat to the United States. Yes, the War Party is going full blast with a propaganda campaign designed to drag us into yet another bloody futile war in the Middle East.

We’ve been here before – remember? The last time they corralled us into a war in Iraq they handed us cock-and-bull stories about "weapons of mass destruction" and Saddam Hussein’s nonexistent links to the 9/11 attacks. This time they aren’t bothering with any of that: it’s just pure horror stories plus the laughable contention that ISIL represents a credible threat to the U.S. homeland.

It’s time for a preemptive strike at the War Party’s congressional fortress. Please call your congressional representative today and urge them to vote no on the AUMF – because we can win this one. We stopped them last time when President Obama decided it was time to bomb Syria. One by one members of Congress who were inclined to authorize that military campaign backed away when faced with a deluge of outraged calls from constituents. We can do it again – oh yes we can!