Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Meanwhile, on Tobacco Road

Gay marriage is banned. Civil unions, too:


A proposed amendment to North Carolina’s constitution which would make marriage between a man and woman the only legal union recognized by the state has passed a statewide vote, the Associated Press reports.

The referendum- North Carolina Amendment One- goes a step beyond outlawing same-sex marriage, which was already illegal in the state. The law decrees that “marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State”- meaning that civil unions and potentially other types of domestic partnerships will no longer be legally recognized.
What does it mean? Three things I can think of, at least for now:

  • You won't hear much about Barack Obama's "evolution" on this issue, at least for the remainder of the campaign.
  • Expect some pressure on the Democratic Party to move their convention from North Carolina, although it's likely too late for that to happen.
  • The search is on for the Vaughan Walker of the Fourth Circuit.


10 comments:

Brian said...

It means that extant families now have even less legal protection than they did before. And that is really the only thing that matters.

Gino said...

just saw the results. Wow. the gays really took it deep in NC.

Brian said...

Durham and Orange (Chapel Hill) counties voted 70 and 79% against the amendment, which tells you how different they really are from the rest of the state.

Gino said...

i wonder what the vote was around ft Bragg, and how the 20% black population went.

Brian said...

Cumberland County (where Ft. Bragg is) went 70% in favor.

The perception statewide is that the amendment was very popular in the African American community. That is almost certainly an oversimplificaiton. A friend of mine has broken down the votes by precinct (which serve as pretty good proxies for race, since neighborhoods are fairly segregated) and shown that in urban districts, black people voted against at pretty much the same rate as their white neighbors. And the same is true out in the country.

The real split is urban/rural. Not black/white.

Mr. D said...

The real split is urban/rural. Not black/white.

I believe that.

Brian said...

"You won't hear much about Barack Obama's "evolution" on this issue, at least for the remainder of the campaign."

Well...that didn't take long, did it?

Gino said...

Well...that didn't take long, did it?

i was too slow to the blog today: i was going to say that he had to evolve quickly because his funding is falling short of projections and he needs hollywood to step it up.

Anonymous said...

Mark,
you nailed that one! ;)

Rich

Mr. D said...

Mark,
you nailed that one! ;)

Rich


Couldn't have been more wrong and not afraid to admit it. More tonight.