Anti-Gay Amendment FAQ

What does the anti-gay* amendment say?

The bill would amend the state constitution to include a new section that reads "Marriage between a man and a woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State." Click here to see the full text on the legislature's website.

What would the anti-gay amendment do?

The language proposed is the most extreme version of an anti-gay amendment. In addition to limiting marriage to opposite sex couples, as state statute already does, it would prohibit any other form of relationship recognition, such as civil union or domestic partnership. This kind of language has been used in other states to take away private benefits such as health insurance for LGBT couples, unmarried opposite-sex couples, and their children. This is a not a hypothetical issue but a very real one. These amendments have also been used to challenge other private contracts between couples.

The amendment would not only write the current discriminatory marriage law into the constitution, it would actually take away rights and responsibilities that are currently available to some couples.

Who sponsored the anti-gay amendment?

(Click here to look up who your senator is if you don't know.)

What is the process to amend the constitution?

The bill must pass both the House and Senate by a 3/5ths margin (that's 30 of 50 votes in the Senate and 72 of 120 votes in the House). It would then be placed on the ballot in November 2012 where it would need a simple majority of voters to become part of the constitution. The governor does not have veto authority on constitutional amendments.

What do we call it?

Call SB 106 what it is: "the anti-gay amendment." It's not about "defending" anyone's marriage. It's an attack on LGBT North Carolinians.

What are our key arguments against the amendment?

1. The anti-gay amendment causes real harm. It harms couples who will be denied even the most basic protections and it harms vulnerable LGBT young people by sending a terrible message that their state and their neighbors consider them second-class citizens unworthy of basic dignity and fair treatment, a message which exacerbates the epidemic of LGBT young people committing suicide.

2. The anti-gay amendment is bad for business. It intrudes on businesses' right to provide competitive benefits to their employees and it signals to major employers that our state is not welcoming of the diverse, creative workforce that is needed to compete in the global economy.

3. The anti-gay amendment is a distraction from the voters' priorities. The legislature was sent to Raleigh to tackle jobs, the economy, and the state budget, not to advance a divisive social agenda.

4. Marriage is already denied same-sex couples by state law. The amendment doesn't change marriage in any way. It simply attacks LGBT North Carolinians and puts their basic rights up for a vote.

5. Amending the constitution is an extreme act, not a conservative one. Constitutions are designed to protect rights and not to take them away. The rights of a minority should never be put to a majority vote.

What can I do right now to make a difference?

• Join Equality NC's online action network to get alerts on how you can help.
  

• Call you state senator and your state representative today and let them know you oppose Senate Bill 106, the anti-gay amendment. (You can find their phone numbers here.)

• Make a contribution to Equality NC to fund our lobbying and community organizing to stop the anti-gay amendment.

• Help us send a message to the legislature by volunteering to get people in your community to complete postcards to their legislators in opposition to the anti-gay amendment. We'll make it easy and send you a kit with everything you need. Just email postcards@equalitync.org for more information or to sign up to help! Please include in the e-mail your mailing address and the number of postcards you'll commit to get signed.

• Talk to your friends, family, and co-workers about the anti-gay amendment and why it must not pass. Tell them a story about how anti-LGBT discrimination has affected you or someone you love.

• Copy and post the following link on Facebook and Twitter, or email it to your friends to share this FAQ with them: http://bit.ly/eDG2Vv

* We sometimes use "gay" in our public messaging when we mean LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) because not enough people know what LGBT means. We're starting with what's familiar to most North Carolinians so we reach as many folks as possible.