Adam Abram, the CEO of James River
Group and chairman of Piedmont Community Bank Holdings, has said
Amendment One would hurt businesses in North Carolina.
Voters will decide on Amendment One
during North Carolina's May 8 primary. The constitutional amendment
would bar the state from recognizing the relationships of gay and
lesbian couples with marriage, civil unions and possibly domestic
partnerships.
In a video released on Thursday, Abram
urged voters to decide against the amendment because it would weaken
the state's competitiveness.
“We need all the talented people we
can get to help us build our state, educate our children, build our
businesses and create prosperity for everybody,” Abram said in the
nearly 2-minute video. “As soon as we start telling people, 'We
don't want you here;' as soon as we start sending exclusive signals,
we reverse the great trend we've had in North Carolina that's allowed
us to bring all this talent into North Carolina and helped us build
our state. Let's not close our doors. That's the wrong way for us.
Let's be open, let's be forward-looking, let's be inclusive.”
“That's the side of history we want
to be on,” he added. (The video is embedded in the right panel of
this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)