This week folks in North Carolina will decide whether to ban same sex-marriage.
The vote would change the state constitution to make marriage between a man and a woman-the only recognized legal union.
On Tuesday, North Carolina voters will be making a big decision at the polls: the decision to change the state’s constitution. Amendment 1 would make marriage between one man and one woman, the only recognized domestic legal union in the state.
“The reason we have to put it in our state constitution is that half a dozen other states have by judicial fiat, had a handful of judges change the laws of those states.”
It’s something several others states have done, but Amendment 1 goes a step further-not only would it ban same-sex marriage, which is already illegal in North Carolina. It would also invalidate all civil unions and domestic partnerships.
“This is bad law, because it will hurt even heterosexual families because it does not recognize any other domestic union.”
The measure raises all kinds of legal questions, and is causing a heap of controversy in the state.
“It will hurt children, it will hurt those that need the protection in domestic violence issues.”
Both sides are spending millions to convince voters to come to their side.
Melissa and Libby are a lesbian couple who’ve been together for ten years. They were married in Vancouver and have a four-year-old daughter. since Libby works for the government, Melissa says their daughter will lose her health insurance if Amendment 1 passes but the amendment’s supporters say there’s a way around that.
“The vast majority of governmental insurance would not cover her child anyway and those handful of cities and counties that have it in that nature. If they reformat it so that they want to cover the unmarried household members and all the children.. they could do that if they want to.”
“I think it’s wrong to ask me to be untruthful in order to get coverage and I don’t understand why an amendment that is intended to protect families would request that our family lie about who we are and lie about being a family in order to get protection.”
Recent polling shows the amendment is likely to pass this Tuesday.
But some warn, if voters approve the measure, it will set a dangerous precedent and place discrimination in the constitution.
