(AP) NC voters approve amendment on same-sex marriage
By EMERY P. DALESIO and MARTHA WAGGONER
Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C.
North Carolina voters approved a constitutional amendment on Tuesday defining marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman, making it the 30th state to adopt such a ban.
With 35 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday, unofficial returns showed the amendment passing with about 58 percent of the vote to 42 percent against.
In the final days before the vote, members of President Barack Obama’s cabinet expressed support for same-sex marriage and former President Bill Clinton recorded phone messages urging voters to reject the amendment. Opponents also held marches, ran TV ads and gave speeches, including one by Jay Bakker, son of televangelists Jim Bakker and the late Tammy Faye Bakker.
Meanwhile, supporters had run their own ad campaigns and church leaders urged Sunday congregations to vote for the amendment. The Rev. Billy Graham, who at 93 remains influential even though his last crusade was in 2005, was featured in full-page newspaper ads supporting the amendment.
Both sides spent a combined $3 million on their campaigns.
North Carolina law already bans same-sex marriage, like nine other states, but an amendment would effectively slam the door shut on same-sex marriages. The amendment also goes beyond state law by voiding other types of domestic unions from carrying legal status, which opponents warn could disrupt protection orders for unmarried couples.
Six states – all in the Northeast except Iowa – and the District of Columbia allow same sex marriages.
The North Carolina amendment was placed on the ballot after Republicans took over control of the state Legislature after the 2010 elections, a role the GOP hadn’t enjoyed for 140 years.
Joe Easterling, who described himself as a devout Christian, voted for the amendment at a polling place in Wake Forest.
Linda Toanone, who voted against the amendment, said people are born gay and it is not their choice.
North Carolina is the latest presidential swing state to weigh in on same-sex marriage. Florida, Virginia and Ohio all have constitutional amendments against same-sex marriage, and Obama’s election-year vagueness on same-sex marriage has come under fresh scrutiny.
Obama, who supports most gay rights, has stopped short of backing same-sex marriage. Without clarification, he’s said for the past year and a half that his personal views on the matter are “evolving.”
Education Secretary Arne Duncan broke ranks with the White House on Monday, stating his unequivocal support for same-sex marriage one day after Vice President Joe Biden said he is “absolutely comfortable” with same-sex married couples getting the same rights at heterosexual married couples.
One fault line that could determine the result is generational. Older voters, who tend to be more reliable voters, are expected to back the amendment.
State House Speaker Thom Tillis, a Republican from a Charlotte suburb, said even if the amendment is passed, it will be reversed as today’s young adults age.
The amendment also goes beyond state law by voiding other types of domestic unions from carrying legal status, which opponents warn could disrupt protection orders for unmarried couples.
In North Carolina, more than 500,000 voters had cast their ballot before Tuesday, which was more than the 2008 primary when Obama and Hillary Clinton were fighting for the Democratic presidential nomination. Both sides said that bodes well for them.
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Associated Press writers Allen G. Breed, Emery P. Dalesio and Gary D. Robertson contributed to this report.