North Carolina passes Amendment 1 banning same-sex unions
60% of people endorse constitutional amendment that prevents same-sex couples having any kind of legal union
Karen McVeigh in Raleigh, North Carolina
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 9 May 2012 03.52 BST
Article history
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| Opponents of the North Carolina ban on same-sex unions react to its adoption in Amendment 1 of the state's constitution |
It will become the 30th state to define marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman. With more than half the precincts reporting, unofficial returns showed the amendment passing with about 60% for to 40% against.
Same-sex marriage has been illegal in the state since a law enacted in 1996. The amendment will enshrine the ban in the state constitution. It can now only be amended by another vote by the people.
The amendment declares that "marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognised in this state".
Supporters of Amendment 1 declared a victory for "God's institution" of marriage. "With God's grace we have won at overwhelming victory," Tami Fitzgerald, chairwoman of Votes For Marriage NC, told supporters.
"We are not anti-gay, we are pro-marriage," she said. "The whole point is you don't rewrite the nature of God's design for marriage based on the demands of a group of adults."
Jeremy Kennedy, of the Coalition to Protect All NC Families, said: "It is just a skirmish in a battle, a war that we will win."
In an emotional speech, he told supporters they had "left no stone unturned" in fighting the amendment.
"Tonight we walk away proud with our heads held high and we will continue to fight this."
Twenty-eight states had already passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman. The amendment in North Carolina goes beyond current state law by preventing other forms of domestic unions from carrying legal status.
Lawyers and campaigners for the anti-amendment campaign have warned this could cause a host of problems for unmarried couples, including erasing health benefits for the children of public employees in certain parts of the state. They also say it could disrupt protection orders for unmarried couples and impact victims of domestic violence. The term "domestic legal union" is not defined by North Carolina law.
Earlier on Tuesday a senior official at the board of elections in the state capital said the election to decide on a state constitutional amendment was the "craziest in 13 years".
Gary Sims, the deputy director of Wake County board of elections in Raleigh, told the Guardian there were "some really angry people" on both sides of the highly charged debate.
Observers from the Republican party had sought to "challenge and confront" precinct officials from the board and were "clogging up the phone lines" back at Wake County headquarters. "This is the craziest election I've seen in 13 years" said Sims, at his office next to the courthouse.
"We've seen political party observers who are not precinct officials. They can ask to be observers. They want to challenge and confront and it's a problem for our precinct officials."
He said the reason for the confrontations varied, from calling up the board of elections to complain that there wasn't a chair for them to sit on to pushing officials to get people to show ID at the polls.
"They have been clogging up the phone lines and getting mad at us," said Sims. "People have to state their names and addresses and we check them. But they are challenging officials to make them show ID. They have an agenda, the ones that we've been getting trouble from."
When asked whether the trouble was coming from the groups for or against Amendment 1, Sims said: "Put it this way: we had zero Democratic party observers." He added: "I've probably said more than I should."
There were also problems with voters not being registered turning up to vote, he said. "We are seeing a very high turnout." The state has already seen record number of early voters.
The outcome of the referendum is being closely monitored across America. President Barack Obama and former president Bill Clinton, who recorded telephone calls to voters, have asked them to reject the amendment. Opponents also held marches, put out television ads and gave speeches, including one by Jay Bakker, son of televangelists Jim Bakker and the late Tammy Faye Bakker.
Billy Graham, the evangelical preacher who at age 93 remains influential in the state where he has a stretch of road named after him, was featured in full-page newspaper ads supporting the amendment.
The opposing sides spent a combined $3m on their campaigns.
Massachusetts, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York and the District of Columbia allow gay and lesbian unions. Maryland, New Jersey and Washington state passed laws this year approving same-sex marriage, but Governor Chris Christie vetoed New Jersey's law and opponents of Maryland's and Washington's laws are threatening ballot initiatives to overturn them.
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