Marriage Amendment Introduced in N.C. Senate

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Marriage Amendment Introduced in N.C. Senate

Special Report - January 25, 2007
One of the first bills introduced in the 2007 Session of the North Carolina General Assembly was an act to amend the North Carolina Constitution to define marriage as “the union of one man and one woman at one time.” On Thursday, January 25, Senators Jim Forrester (R-Gaston) and Fred Smith (R-Johnston) introduced S13—Defense of Marriage in the North Carolina Senate, which calls for a statewide vote on the constitutional amendment at an election on November 6, 2007. Like similar bills introduced in the State Senate and State House during the last three years, the amendment reads:

“Marriage is the union of one man and one woman at one time. This is the only marriage that shall be recognized as valid in this State. The uniting of two persons of the same sex or the uniting of more than two persons of any sex in a marriage, civil union, domestic partnership, or other similar relationship within or outside of this State shall not be valid or recognized in this State. This Constitution shall not be construed to require that marital status or the rights, privileges, benefits, or other legal incidents of marriage be conferred upon unmarried individuals or groups.”

“It is unconscionable that The General Assembly has failed to vote on, or even consider, the marriage amendment bills introduced over the past three years,” said Bill Brooks president of the North Carolina Family Policy Council. “The threat to marriage in our country grows everyday, yet we are one of only two states in the Southeastern United States lacking constitutional protection. We implore the 2007 General Assembly to act quickly to defend marriage in the Tar Heel State.”

If S13 is passed by a three-fifths majority of both chambers of the General Assembly and then approved by a simple majority of the voters of the State on November 6, it would take effect on January 1, 2008.