North Carolina Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment One Passes, Reactions Pour In

Amendment One just passed by a huge margin in North Carolina. Below are statements by groups against the constitutional amendment that bans same-sex marriage and all other relationship forms from the state.

We’ll update this post often  — please return throughout the evening and tomorrow.

Freedom To Marry
Founder and President Evan Wolfson released the following statement moments ago:

“As momentum for the freedom to marry continues to grow in the rest of the nation, today’s vote is a painful reminder of what happens when a preemptive ballot-measure is stampeded through before people have had enough time to take in real conversations about who gay families are and why marriage matters to them.  This amendment is a last gasp of discrimination that will cause real harm to families, communities, and businesses in North Carolina, but says little about the prospects for a better outcome in battles to come in states where there has been greater visibility for loving and committed couples and those who get to know them.   And even in North Carolina, the long-term effect of this nasty attack will be to spur more conversations and open more hearts, helping more people rise to fairness and support for the freedom to marry.”

Human Rights Campaign:

Tonight North Carolina’s discriminatory and overreaching Amendment One passed, banning marriage and other forms of relationship recognition for gays and lesbians.  The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, expressed disappointment in the vote, but characterized it as a temporary setback in the fight for equality.

“The passage of Amendment One is a heartbreaking loss for families in North Carolina, but will not stop us in the march toward full equality,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese.  “As the country continues to move in the direction of marriage equality, our opponents have cynically interrupted the important conversations taking place which lead to increased understanding and acceptance.”

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund:

“North Carolina has wandered into treacherous terrain with Amendment One. For all the talk of bolstering families, this measure shamefully shoves them into harm’s way.”
— Rea Carey, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

WASHINGTON, May 8 — North Carolina voters have passed Amendment One, a constitutional amendment that limits legal unions to marriage between a man and woman and bans civil unions and domestic partnerships. Same-sex couples are already prohibited from marrying in North Carolina under state law. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force assisted the Coalition to Protect North Carolina Families, the local campaign opposing Amendment One, with technical assistance, fundraising, social media outreach and get-out-the-vote efforts.

Statement by Rea Carey, Executive Director,
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

“North Carolina has wandered into treacherous terrain with Amendment One. For all the talk of bolstering families, this measure shamefully shoves them into harm’s way.

“Blocking loving couples from forming legal unions like domestic partnerships, civil unions and marriage flies in the face of family values. Indeed, Amendment One defies what it means to be a family today. Many North Carolinians, including seniors, single women and children, could be placed in peril because the shrinking definition of family excludes them. Some might even be denied life-saving services like domestic violence protections. This is a brutal step backward for relationship recognition in North Carolina.

“We thank all the voters who rejected Amendment One. We stand in solidarity with them and the Coalition to Protect North Carolina Families as they build on this effort to make North Carolina welcoming and safe for all.”