David Blankenhorn, a supporter of
California's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8, has come out against
North Carolina's proposed ban, saying it goes too far.
In an op-ed written by Blankenhorn and
Elizabeth Marquardt of the Institute for American Values published
Wednesday in The
News & Observer, the pair argue that Amendment One goes
too far in its “disdain” for gay couples and their children.
“The proposed amendment states that
'marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal
union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.' That's a big
mouthful, and it goes well beyond the issue of same-sex marriage.”
“For one thing, it means that North
Carolina could not, now or ever, take any step or devise any policy
to extend legal recognition and protection to same-sex couples. No
domestic partnership laws. No civil unions. Nothing.”
“That's mighty cold. If you disdain
gay and lesbian persons, and don't care whether they and their
families remain permanently outside of the protection of our laws,
such a policy might be your cup of tea. But it's not our view, and
we doubt that it's the view of most North Carolinians.”
Blankenhorn testified in favor of
Proposition 8 during the 2010 federal trial challenging the ban's
constitutionality. During a heated cross-examination from David
Boies, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, he conceded that allowing gay
couples to marry would improve the well-being of their children and
would make the country “more American.”
And while Blankenhorn, who has written
extensively on the subject of marriage and fatherhood, has previously
asserted that he opposes gay marriage because children fare better in
a heterosexual marriage, he's also said he is opposed to homophobia.
Voters will decide the issue during the
May 8 primary.