NC4Marriage Coalition Fights For NC Marriage Protection Amendment

By: Casey Moore

EP News--- On Feb. 24, the General Assembly members and the NC4Marriage Coalition announced the introduction of the Defense of Marriage Act. The Act, if it becomes law, will give the citizens of North Carolina an opportunity to vote in 2009 to constitutionally amend the definition of marriage in North Carolina to be defined as the union of a man and a woman. With around 300 people in attendance, the announcement of this legislation took place in the Legislative Building in the state capitol of Raleigh.

The primary sponsor, Sen. Jim Forrester, said, “We are sponsoring this legislation because we firmly believe that North Carolina’s marriage laws are at risk of being redefined by activist courts to include same-sex couples.”

North Carolina is the only southern state that has not protected marriage through the state constitution. Thirty other states previously had the opportunity to vote to protect marriage in their state constitutions. In 2008, Massachusetts, Connecticut and California changed their state’s marriage law to include same-sex marriages.

According to Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of NC4Marriage, it is urgent that North Carolina protect their marriage laws before homosexual couples move to North Carolina with a marriage license and file lawsuits forcing the state to recognize these licenses as valid. Fitzgerald said, “It is time to let the people of North Carolina to vote on this issue.”

“The purpose of the amendment is to have the highest and best protection for marriage,” said Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald is skeptical about the bill being passed, but hopes the Senate will realize how important this issue is for the state of North Carolina.

Representative David Lewis, a supporter of the bill, said, “The indisputable fact is that the only way to protect marriage in North Carolina is through a constitutional amendment, and the people of this state should no longer be denied the opportunity to vote on this issue.”
(2/26/2009)

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