More states will vote on same-sex wedlock later this year. Rebuke for gay marriage in N.C.

North Carolina overwhelmingly voted Tuesday in favor of a state constitutional amendment defining marriage between one man and one woman as the only legal union recognized by the state.

The vote makes North Carolina the 30th state to adopt a ban on gay marriage. While North Carolina law already bans same-sex marriage, the amendment means civil unions and potentially other types of domestic partnerships will no longer be recognized legally by the state.


More states will vote on gay marriage later this year. In November, Minnesota voters will cast ballots on a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as solely between one man and one woman. Washington state voters are also expected to consider a gay marriage ban while Maine in November will vote on whether to approve same-sex marriage.

The vote in the key swing state came after a tough couple days for the White House on the issue of gay marriage, which President Barack Obama hasn’t publicly favored. But Vice President Joe Biden and Education Secretary Arne Duncan both publicly endorsed marriage equality in recent days, making their boss look behind the curve in the gay community.

As expected, North Carolina voters overwhelmingly approved the state constitutional amendment 60 percent to 40 percent, with nearly half of precincts reporting.

“Your efforts send a message to the state of North Carolina and to the country that we will not allow marriage to be redefined in this state,” Tami Fitzgerald, chair of Vote for Marriage NC, told supporters gathered in Raleigh. “The nation is watching North Carolina, and we have given them a high standard to follow.”

(Also on POLITICO: 10 memorable gay marriage quotes)

Foes of the amendment suggested that its passage paves the way for unintended consequences for the state’s families.

North Carolina Rep. Brad Miller, a Democrat, said the constitutional amendment goes “well beyond” just establishing marriage as between one man and one woman.

“If you’re in a hospital, in your last illness and you’ve been with a partner for 30 years, if the law is that only certain family members may visit you — you can’t pick who your family members are,” Miller said in a live-streamed interview Tuesday night. “You can’t pick who your family is. The government has decided for you.”

Jen Jones, the communications director for Protect All NC Families — which opposed the amendment — told the Raleigh News & Observer that they had an “unprecedented coalition.”

“We were on TV as much as we wanted to be. We talked to everyone we could about unintended consequences,” she said.

An unusually high number of voters went to the polls early in North Carolina. According to state election officials, more than 500,000 voters cast their ballots ahead of Tuesday’s election, despite the lack of a competitive presidential primary. That’s more early voters than in 2008, when Obama and Hillary Clinton were locked in a fight for the Democratic nomination.

Opponents of the measure, though disappointed with their loss, cheered the high turnout and vowed to keep fighting.

“They said we couldn’t do it. They said we couldn’t get this far and they said we couldn’t do it in the time that we had, but we did it, over and over again,” Protect all NC Families campaign manager Jeremy Kennedy said Tuesday night. “Till the polls closed tonight, people were knocking on doors. … Tonight, we’re going to set a record turnout for any primary in North Carolina history most likely.”

In North Carolina, the gay-marriage fight sparked an aggressive campaign by activists on both sides of the issue and drew a number of high-profile voices into the fray.

Former President Bill Clinton — who is serving as a high-profile Obama surrogate — recorded a robocall opposing the amendment, noting that North Carolina already has a state law banning gay marriage, and echoing local activists who say the measure could weaken state laws protecting women from domestic violence.

Meanwhile, the Rev. Billy Graham — who lives in Asheville, N.C. — and his son, the Rev. Franklin Graham, both released statements in support of the constitutional amendment. The elder Graham, who was featured in a full-page newspaper ad supporting the amendment, linked gay marriage to the integrity of the country.

“Watching the moral decline of our country causes me great concern. I believe the home and marriage is the foundation of our society and must be protected,” Graham said in the ad.

Activists on both sides of the contentious issue spent more than $3 million on their campaigns, according to The Associated Press.

The North Carolina vote comes amid a renewed push for Obama to fully embrace marriage equality.

Pressed by reporters Monday on whether Obama’s views on the topic have changed, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Obama is “the right person to describe his own personal views. He, as you know, said that his views on this were evolving and I don’t have an update for you on that.”

Carney said that the administration’s “policy positions haven’t changed,” — a reflection of the delicate line the president has walked on the issue.

While Obama hasn’t embrace marriage equality, he did, however, oppose the North Carolina measure.

“While the president does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the record is clear that the President has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights to same sex couples,” North Carolina campaign spokesman Cameron French said in a statement in March in response to questions from the Charlotte Observer. “That’s what the North Carolina ballot initiative would do — it would single out and discriminate against committed gay and lesbian couples — and that’s why the President does not support it.”

While the marriage measure won’t be on the ballot in November, Obama will and he carried North Carolina narrowly — by just 14,000 votes — in 2008.

Democrats are also set to hold their national convention in Charlotte this summer.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, called the passage of the constitutional amendment “very disappointing” and said it “unfairly singles out gay and lesbian Americans and is discriminatory.”

“I’m proud that President Obama opposed Amendment One, as he has long believed that gay and lesbian couples deserve the same rights and legal protections that straight couples already enjoy.”

Since 1998, states have voted on gay marriage ballot measures 33 times, and gay marriage opponents have won 32 times.