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Written by Lisa Neff, Staff writer
Sep 22, 2011
North Carolina business CEOs, civil rights activists, progressive politicians and vexed voters are uniting to defeat a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
The measure also would bar any state recognition of civil unions and domestic partnerships.
Last week, business-minded opponents of the amendment gathered in a conference room at the capitol to warn that passage would tarnish the Tar Heel State’s reputation as a welcoming place to live and work.
“If you want to figure out a way to push Bank of America from its headquarters in Charlotte to New York, pass this amendment,” said Martin Eakes, CEO of the Center for Responsible Learning and a member of the bank’s national advisory board.
Richard Degnan, vice president of The Body Shop, said during the press conference Sept. 14 that his company would not have relocated from San Francisco to Wake Forest, N.C., if the amendment had been in place four years ago.
Mitchell Gold, co-founder of the Taylorsville, N.C.-based home furnishings empire Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, said of the legislative votes, “I am frankly disgusted.”
About 80 other corporate executives signed a letter opposing the amendment and emphasizing that 95 percent of voters say their top priority is creating jobs and boosting the economy.
Lobbyists also are organizing against the ballot initiative, along with activists, including demonstrators with the national GetEQUAL civil disobedience group, and members of Equality North Carolina, the statewide GLBT organization.
“The politicians of this state – my state – cemented their future legacies alongside those of George Wallace, Bull Connor and … other … bigots,” said GetEQUAL organizer Angel Chandler. “Today, we have a very clear message for them: The days when North Carolina’s LGBT population sat silently in their closets, too ashamed to stand up and fight this act of state-sponsored bigotry and hatred are over. …We are standing up, our voices will be heard, and we will work to disarm opponents of progress in this country by calling them out publicly for the nation to see their bigotry.”
The North Carolina Senate vote for the amendment was 30-16 on Sept. 13. The house vote on Sept. 12 was 75-42, with Republicans mostly lining up on the “yes” side and Democrats in the “no” column.
Organizations on both sides of the issue now are raising money and courting voters. There is general agreement that the primary, with a hotly contested race for the GOP presidential nomination, likely will draw many more Republicans than Democrats to the polls.
