Marriage Amendment Bill Filed in NC House

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Marriage Amendment Bill Filed in NC House

Special Report - July 3, 2008
Sixty-six members of the North Carolina House have signed on as co-sponsors of a new bill calling for an amendment to the North Carolina Constitution defining marriage as “the union of one man and one woman at one time.” At a press conference held Wednesday to announce the introduction of the bill, Rep. David Lewis (R-Harnett), a primary sponsor of HB 2803—Defense of Marriage, called on the General Assembly to act quickly and approve the measure. “This bill is pro-family, and because of the importance of marriage to our society, we feel that the people of North Carolina deserve the right to vote on this measure.” Other primary sponsors of HB 2803 include Reps. Jim Crawford (D-Granville), Earline Parmon (D-Forsyth), and Ruth Samuelson (R-Mecklenburg). Overall, the bill is sponsored by a bipartisan majority of the House including 14 Democrats and 52 Republicans.

At the press conference, John Rustin, vice president of the North Carolina Family Policy Council also spoke to the critical need for a state constitutional amendment defining marriage. Referring to a map of the Southeastern United States, Rustin commented, “The voters of thirteen states in this region have passed marriage amendments by an average rate exceeding 75 percent, and Florida has the question on the ballot this fall. North Carolina is the only state in the Southeast that has failed to take decisive action to add the definition of marriage to its constitution. As a result,” Rustin continued, “we are extremely vulnerable to legal attacks, especially considering the fact that California is now issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples from states across the nation.”
This is the fifth year that marriage amendment bills have been introduced in the North Carolina House and Senate, but to date, legislative leaders have not allowed a floor vote on any of these measures. SB 1608, a bill similar to HB 2803, was introduced in the State Senate in mid-May.