Opponents of a proposed North Carolina constitutional amendment on gay marriage are joining forces - and want to have 1 million conversations with people before the May primary.
The Coalition to Protect All North Carolina Families met at 11 a.m. on Jones St. in downtown Raleigh to hold a news conference on the proposed Amendment One that will be on the ballot May 8, the date of the North Carolina primary.
The coalition is made up of state and national Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) and human rights groups, faith organizations, communities of color, nonpartisan organizations, and business and community leaders.
These opponents say the change could have dangerous implications on domestic violence laws, threats to domestic partner benefits for public employees, harm to the state's most vulnerable populations, including the working class, disabled, elderly and children.
North Carolina's state law currently defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman, but supporters of a constitutional amendment say it doesn't go far enough.
"What the amendment does is lets the citizens of North Carolina to determine what constitutes a marriage," said Rep. Nelson Dollar, co-sponsor of the amendment.
Dollar said it will have no effect on private companies that pay for partner benefits.
North Carolina is the only state in the Southeast that doesn't have an amendment banning gay marriage in its constitution. The North Carolina Senate voted 30-16 and the House 75-42 in September to take the issue to voters.
According to an Elon University poll done in September, 56 percent of North Carolinians oppose a ban on gay marriage. Elon surveyed 594 North Carolina residents, including both landlines and cellular phones.
South Carolina voters approved an amendment to the state consitution in November 2006 that defined marriage as "between one man and one woman." The measure was approved by 78 percent of South Carolina voters. That was later ratified by the legislature.
However, the issue continues to be in the news in the Palmetto State. On Tuesday, for example, several gay couples in Greenville, S.C., applied for a marriage license, and were rejected, according to the Greenville News.
Gay marriage is currently sanctioned in seven states - none in the South - and the District of Columbia.
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