North Carolina Effort to Ban Same-Sex Marriage Stirs Controversy
Another battle over same-sex marriage is brewing in a southeastern state. But unlike neighboring states, which have overwhelmingly voted against same-sex marriage, the outcome in North Carolina is less than certain and is generating quite a controversy.
The Tar Heel state is the only one in the Southeast that does not ban same-sex marriage in its state constitution. But Republicans, who now control the state legislature for the first time in 140 years, are hoping to change the situation.
On Monday, lawmakers debated proposed amendments, including one to let voters decide if a state law already on the books, defining marriage as between one man and one woman, should be proposed as a state constitutional amendment.
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The North Carolina House of Representatives approved the amendment by a vote of 76-42, squeaking by with a slim four-vote margin, as 72 votes were required for passage. It is awaiting Senate approval, and language for the bill has already been agreed to in the proposed bill.
It reads: "Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state. This section does not prohibit a private party from entering into contracts with another private party; nor does this section prohibit courts from adjudicating the rights of private parties pursuant to such contracts.”
"It's time that we settled this issue," GOP state Rep. Dale Folwell of Winston-Salem, the No. 2 leader in the House, told The Los Angeles Times. Thirty states have approved similar amendments while six states and the District of Columbia allow homosexual couples to legally marry.
If the legislation passes the Senate, voters will decide the issue on the November 2012 ballot.
Folwell, co-sponsor of the bill, said putting the proposed amendment before voters would end arguments about whether the state should allow homosexual marriage, according to the local news station WNEP 16.
Critics claim the move is merely a political ploy to encourage Republican voters to go to the polls during an important election cycle, since the presidential race will be on the ballot at the same time. They also claim that this would be “a step back” for society, when so many people are becoming more tolerant of same-sex marriage.
Democrats also claim that it would “write discrimination into the constitution" and have "a chilling effect" on attracting businesses to North Carolina, Ellen Greaves, a lawyer and member of the political action board of Equality NC, told WNEP 16.
However, Republicans dispute the claim. They say the amendment would not bar businesses from extending benefits to the domestic partners of employees.
"The goal is not to hinder any private company from any policy they want to have," said State Senator Dan Soucek, a Republican from Boone and a prime sponsor of the amendment, according to WNEP 16. "I haven't seen anything credible that it's going to affect how companies treat their people."
