State leaders call for limits

After a failed bid last session, Senate Republicans again are seeking to amend the N.C. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, but the amendment’s backers acknowledge that it isn’t likely to move forward.

Sponsored by Sen. Jim Forrester, R-Gaston, the Defense of Marriage Act never made it out of committee during the last session of the General Assembly. Forrester introduced the legislation again Thursday.

“Not too good” is how he described the odds of passing the bill this time around. “The leadership of the Senate is not interested in passing it.”

The amendment would define marriage in North Carolina as “the union of one man and one woman at one time” and would bar the state from recognizing civil unions or domestic partnerships between same-sex couples.

“It’s certainly not trying to be discriminatory to gays or lesbians or anything like that,” Forrester said.

“It’s just saying that marriage is between one man and one woman. That’s the way it has always been since biblical times.”

North Carolina already has a statute, sponsored by Forrester in 1996, that prohibits the Tar Heel state from recognizing same-sex marriages.

That law was passed out of concern that other states might begin to allow same-sex marriages, which North Carolina would then be obligated to accept under the full faith and credit clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Changing the state constitution, Forrester said, is the only way to head off potential lawsuits against the 1996 statute.

“I think this would strengthen the law on the books,” he said. “Sooner or later, we’ll probably see it challenged in North Carolina courts.”

If the bill were to clear the legislature with the necessary three-fifths vote in the House and Senate, it would be put to a referendum during primary elections in May 2006.

Last November, similar amendments passed referendums in 11 states, and polls suggest that a majority of North Carolinians would likely vote in favor.

Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, said such clear public support would probably force many senators to support the amendment if they had to cast a vote.

“There are a lot of people — and this is the reason it would pass — who would find it politically necessary to vote for it even if they may not believe in it themselves,” she said.

John Rustin, director of government relations for the N.C. Family Policy Council, said he felt certain that the legislation would enjoy broad support if it ever made it out of committee.

“If the bill is brought up for consideration, we’re confident it’ll pass both chambers,” he said. “It’s just a matter of whether the leadership wants to bring it up.”

But Kinnaird said it is unlikely that the bill will ever be allowed a hearing.

“I think the chances probably are not very good. There are too many people that have serious questions about tinkering with the Constitution to reduce people’s rights.”

 

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.