North Carola voters ban gay marriage, civil unns

Contents:

• NORTH CAROLA APPROV AMENDMENT BANNG GAY MARRIAGE
• GAY MARRIAGE BAN PASS IN NORTH CAROLA
• THE GAY MARRIAGE CASE THAT MAK NO SENSE
• NORTH CAROLA'S VOTE TO BAN GAY MARRIAGE IS A WARNG TO OBAMA
• NORTH CAROLA VOTERS BAN GAY MARRIAGE, CIVIL UNNS
• UNED CHURCH OF CHRIST CHALLENG NORTH CAROLA BAN ON GAY MARRIAGE
• GAY MARRIAGE: NORTH CAROLA OFFICIAL RIGNS

NORTH CAROLA APPROV AMENDMENT BANNG GAY MARRIAGE

RALEIGH, North Carola – North Carola joed s southern neighbors Tuday enshrg opposn to same-sex marriage the state nstutn, a move that churned the natnal bate over gay marriage spe havg ltle immediate effect si North state already banned gay marriage, so the amendment fg marriage as between a man and a woman did nothg to change that. Natnally, the vote was closely watched at a time when gay marriage is returng to the polil nversatn. Print Obama has faced prsure recent days to make his gay marriage stance more clear, after top officials his admistratn have eher endorsed gay marriage or spoken support of has said his view is "evolvg.

Billy Graham, 93, was featured full-page newspaper ads backg the Carola is the 30th state to pass a nstutnal amendment banng gay marriage. The vote mak North Carola the 30th state to adopt a ban on gay marriage.

More stat will vote on gay marriage later this year. Washgton state voters are also expected to nsir a gay marriage ban while Mae November will vote on whether to approve same-sex marriage.

GAY MARRIAGE BAN PASS IN NORTH CAROLA

The vote the key swg state me after a tough uple days for the Whe Hoe on the issue of gay marriage, which Print Barack Obama hasn’t publicly favored. But Vice Print Joe Bin and Edutn Secretary Arne Dunn both publicly endorsed marriage equaly recent days, makg their boss look behd the curve the gay muny. (Also on POLITICO: 10 memorable gay marriage quot).

In North Carola, the gay-marriage fight sparked an aggrsive mpaign by activists on both sis of the issue and drew a number of high-profile voic to the ay. Former Print Bill Clton — who is servg as a high-profile Obama surrogate — rerd a roboll opposg the amendment, notg that North Carola already has a state law banng gay marriage, and echog lol activists who say the measure uld weaken state laws protectg women om domtic vlence. The elr Graham, who was featured a full-page newspaper ad supportg the amendment, lked gay marriage to the tegry of the untry.

“That’s what the North Carola ballot iative would do — would sgle out and discrimate agast mted gay and lbian upl — and that’s why the Print do not support . ), chairwoman of the Democratic Natnal Commtee, lled the passage of the nstutnal amendment “very disappotg” and said “unfairly sgl out gay and lbian Amerins and is discrimatory.

THE GAY MARRIAGE CASE THAT MAK NO SENSE

“I’m proud that Print Obama opposed Amendment One, as he has long believed that gay and lbian upl serve the same rights and legal protectns that straight upl already enjoy. Sce 1998, stat have voted on gay marriage ballot measur 33 tim, and gay marriage opponents have won 32 tim. "We are not anti-gay; we are pro-marriage, " a proponent of the amendment says.

We have gay iends. “We are not anti-gay; we are pro-marriage, ” said Tami Fzgerald, chairwoman of the group. Print Barack Obama said he was “disappoted” by the vote, scribg as discrimatory agast gays and lbians, a spokman said.

NORTH CAROLA'S VOTE TO BAN GAY MARRIAGE IS A WARNG TO OBAMA

The state already had a ban on gay marriage, but this amendment go further by barrg same-sex civil unns. On Meet the Prs, Vice Print Joe Bin exprsed his support for gay marriage.

Earlier this week, the Uned Church of Christ ma headl when filed a feral lawsu challengg North Carola’s ban on gay marriage. The su mak a novel argument: Bee state law mak a crime for a mister or other relig official to marry a gay uple—y, you read that right, a crime to marry a gay uple—the law vlat their relig eedom. This time, is pro-gay misters tryg to stand up for their rights and the rights of gay upl.

Gay rights supporters were unequivol ridg the North Carola statute. The threat of a mister gog to jail simply for celebratg a gay marriage is a real, and terrifyg, afont to the very premise of ‘ee exercise’ of relign. That’s even clearer wh rpect to gay upl (note the “hband” and “wife” language), given that gay marriage is not legal North Carola (at least not yet).

NORTH CAROLA VOTERS BAN GAY MARRIAGE, CIVIL UNNS

If the UCC ends up argug that North Carola law mt regnize gay marriage for the sake of the clergy’s relig eedom, then the church’s se hg on the Constutn requirg the civil fn of marriage to nform to a relig fn. Thanks to the Supreme Court’s cisn last June strikg down the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act, marriage equaly has enjoyed an unbroken wng streak urts across the untry on the basis of a far more straightforward argument: Gay upl are equal to everyone else.

Equal treatment is the bt argument for gay marriage. / Associated PrsThe overwhelmg North Carola vote to fe marriage as legal only between a man and woman is an unequivol remr that gay marriage remas unappealg many parts of the untry, even as s support grows overall 's a warng for Print Obama, who is currently posned somewhere between supporters of gay marriage -- who clu mpaign backers and members of his own admistratn -- and ristant voters like those who helped pass the gay marriage ban this week the Tar Heel 's scriptn of himself as "evolvg" on the issue amounts to a public flirtatn, and has prompted speculatn that he'll bee a gay-marriage supporter time for the Democratic Natnal Conventn this summer Charlotte. Acrdg to the pro gay-marriage Human Rights Campaign, an array of battleground stat have siar bans, cludg Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Oh, Virgia, and Wisns.

UNED CHURCH OF CHRIST CHALLENG NORTH CAROLA BAN ON GAY MARRIAGE

"On a natnal level, supporters of gay marriage have gaed remarkable polil ground sce the issue was last ed as a wedge, durg the 2004 printial mpaign.

In 2004, Gallup found a solid majory of Amerins opposed to changg marriage laws; a poll released Tuday, the anizatn found narrow majory support for gay marriage -- 50 percent to 48 percent.

Gay marriage is legal six stat and will be two others if voters don't rail new laws. After North Carola, only four stat -- Mnota, Mae, Maryland and Washgton -- are slated to have gay-marriage measur on the the potential for flare-ups is not limed to those stat.

GAY MARRIAGE: NORTH CAROLA OFFICIAL RIGNS

In Iowa, for stance, another swg state that Obama is untg on, voters oted three jtic who had led a gay marriage ban swg-state sensivi, Obama is also navigatg cross-currents wh his party. Social liberals and young people are phg him to support gay marriage. Eher way, the North Carola rults unrsre the price he and other Democrats uld pay for their succs so far on the road toward gay marriage.

The amendment passed 61 to 39 percent, makg North Carola the 29th state wh a gay marriage ban s state already outlawed gay marriage, but the nstutnal amendment mak more difficult for policians to ever change the law.

Supporters of gay marriage out-raised and out-advertised their opponents the lead up to the vote, emphasizg TV ads that the amendment uld also have repercsns for unmarried straight upl bee of s vague language.