An amendment that would
constitutionally prohibit gay marriage in North Carolina was
introduced in the House on Wednesday, Charlotte-based
gay weekly Q-Notes
reported.
A similar measure was introduced in the
North Carolina Senate in February.
The Senate version explicitly bans
other unions in addition to marriage, which might include civil
unions and domestic partnerships, but the House's version only covers
marriage.
Opponents worry that the Senate's
language could outlaw domestic partner benefits currently offered by
private sector employers.
“I think it is a step in the right
direction that they didn't introduce as extreme a version as the
Senate did,” Equality North Carolina Director Ian Palmquist told
the paper. “The fact remains it is still an attempt to write
discrimination into our state constitution.”
If approved this year, the question
could appear on the 2012 ballot.
Seven Democrats, 31 Republicans and 1
independent had signed on as co-sponsors as of early Friday
afternoon. Republicans gained control of both chambers on November
2. In the House, however, the GOP remains 5 votes shy of the
three-fourths majority needed to approve a constitutional amendment.