Greensboro, North Carolina's 9-member
City Council on Tuesday approved a resolution apposing a proposed
constitutional amendment which would ban gay marriage in the state,
CBS
affiliate WFMY reported.
Voters will decide on the measure
during North Carolina's presidential primary in May.
If approved, the amendment would bar
North Carolina from recognizing the relationships of gay and lesbian
couples with marriage, civil unions and possibly domestic
partnerships.
Thirty people turned out to speak on
the issue before the City Council overwhelmingly approved the
resolution with an 8-1 vote.
“For me, my partner, especially for
our daughter, stand with us against North Carolina Amendment One,”
an emotional woman said.
In his remarks, Pastor Rick Brooks
suggested gay couples did not deserve to be recognized because they
cannot procreate without the aid of a third party.
“These two flags hanging together,
they might look nice together, they might be compatible, but they
don't produce anything. Baffles me to debate it,” he said.
Mayor Robbie Perkins has said he is
concerned that if approved the amendment would prevent the city from
extending benefits to the partners of city workers who are gay.
Greensboro currently offers health insurance and other benefits to
those partners.
Greensboro is the third city behind
Raleigh and Chapel Hill to approve a resolution stating its
opposition to the amendment.