There would be no more legal unions between unmarried people, gay or straight. It could take health care benefits away from families, it could take away domestic violence protections, hospital visitation rights, and all the very basic protections of civil unions.

Sadly, as predicted , voters in North Carolina passed Amendment One , the law that bans already-banned same-sex marriage and tacks on a gratuitous "and no civil unions, either." As Joan McCarter explained That's why just about everyone —including North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue, former President Bill Clinton (and his daughter), Episcopal bishops , hundreds of business leaders, religious leaders, and members of both parties—opposed it. Because it's hateful and wrong. But apparently, the state's voters disagreed.

Way to go, North Carolina. You must be so proud.