North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue
announced on Friday she'll vote against a proposed constitutional
amendment that would ban gay marriage in the state, the AP reported.
Voters in May will decide whether to
bar the state from legalizing marriage, civil unions and possibly
domestic partnerships for gay and lesbian couples.
Perdue, a 64-year-old Democrat, said
she's opposed to allowing such unions but added that the economy must
take precedence over social issues.
Referring to her 1996 vote in the state
Senate in favor of a law banning gay marriage, Perdue said, “I
continue to support that law today.”
“But I'm going to vote against the
amendment because I cannot in good conscience look an unemployed man
or woman in the eye and tell them that this amendment is more
important than finding them a job.”
“Right now, my focus, the General
Assembly's focus, and North Carolina's focus needs to be on creating
jobs,” Perdue added.
Perdue is the latest high-profile
elected official to come out against the amendment. Last week, North
Carolina Rep. Renee Ellmers, a conservative Republican and tea party
favorite, said the
amendment was too aggressive.
(Related: Majority
oppose North Carolina gay marriage ban amendment.)