Posted by:
ash
(
)
Date: June 19, 2012 08:25PM
How did this become an attack on Southern states? Pretty sure that it was less than 28 states that denied rights to blacks. And it stated that both African Americans and Republicans, though not always mutually exclusive, agreed on the issue in NC. Marriage is a Christian tradition between a man and a woman. Either move to a different state or go to another country that will claim that it is a civil right for gays to marry.
saviorself Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> By Wade Rawlins, Reuters
> posted May 9, 2012 at 8:48 am EDT
> RALEIGH, N.C.
>
> North Carolina voters on Tuesday approved a state
> constitutional amendment that bans same-sex
> marriage and civil unions, dealing a blow to
> efforts across the United States to expand gay
> marriage rights.
>
> The amendment, which says marriage between a man
> and a woman is the only legally recognized
> domestic union in the state, passed by a wide
> margin. With 95 of 100 counties' results reported,
> about 61 percent of votes backed the amendment.
>
> North Carolina law already blocks gay and lesbian
> couples from marrying, but the state now joins the
> rest of the Southeast states in adding the
> prohibition to its constitution.
>
> Many voters simply viewed the amendment as a vote
> on same-sex marriage despite efforts by the
> measure's opponents to broaden the discussion,
> said Tom Jensen of the Raleigh-based Public Policy
> Polling firm.
>
> "Anytime in North Carolina you have a majority of
> Republicans and African Americans on the same side
> of an issue, that's a very potent combination,"
> Jensen said.
>
> Twenty-eight other state have voter-approved
> constitutional bans on same-sex marriages,
> according to the National Conference of State
> Legislatures.
>
> Massachusetts, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire,
> Connecticut, New York and the District of Columbia
> allow gay and lesbian nuptials.
>
> Maryland, New Jersey and Washington state have
> passed laws this year approving same-sex marriage,
> but Governor Chris Christie vetoed New Jersey's
> law and opponents in Maryland and Washington are
> threatening ballot initiatives to overturn those
> laws.
>
> The vote in North Carolina followed statements by
> senior officials of President Barack Obama's
> administration this week which were interpreted as
> supporting gay marriage.
>
> Vice President Joe Biden said on Sunday he was
> "absolutely comfortable" with allowing same-sex
> couples to wed, and Education Secretary Arne
> Duncan said gay marriage should be legal.
>
> Obama has said he favors civil unions but has
> stopped short of supporting gay marriage.
>
> Supporters of the amendment in North Carolina, a
> swing state in the Nov. 6 presidential election,
> said it would preserve the sanctity of marriage
> between a man and a woman and make laws forbidding
> gay marriage harder to repeal.