Victory For Marriage in North Carolina
In a resounding victory for marriage, North Carolina has become the 31st state to pass a defense of marriage amendment into its state constitution. In what is being reported as the highest primary turnout in decades for the state, a resounding 61% of North Carolina voters voted to make marriage between a man and a woman the “only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized…”
Marriage amendments have now passed in 31 of 31 states that have put the issue to the voters. What makes this victory for marriage particularly noteworthy is the amendment was passed despite national media attention, including President Obama coming out against the amendment, and with the pro-marriage coalition in North Carolina being outspent by the opposition almost 2:1. While the mainstream media, the radical GLBT lobby, Hollywood, and others continue the drumbeat against traditional marriage by trying to falsely turn gay marriage into a civil rights issue and to parade poll after poll supposedly showing support for traditional marriage waning, the actual results on the ground continue to shatter their narrative.
Even a prominent Democratic polling firm, Public Policy Polling, noted this after the larger than excepted victory for traditional marriage: “Hate to say it, but I don’t believe polls showing support for gay marriage nationally. Any time there is a vote it doesn’t back it up.”
While yesterday’s victory certainly won’t stop the radical left’s attacks on traditional marriage, the strength of the victory should give them some pause. While North Carolina passed its marriage amendment with a lower percentage than Texas did in 2005 (76%), their amendment did pass with a larger margin than their neighbor Virginia in 2006, which passed a similarly worded amendment and is a fellow southern swing state.
As I mentioned before, President Obama’s campaign came out against the marriage amendment and has now said it is “disappointed” that it passed. It will be interesting to see how President Obama continues to “evolve” in his handling of the marriage issue moving forward (the President has famously said his position on gay marriage is “evolving”). His stance against the North Carolina marriage amendment, coupled with his administration’s decision last year to undermine DOMA, seems to make his stance on this issue pretty clear. And with Vice President Biden now announcing his support for gay marriage, President Obama’s tight rope walk on this issue might not be able to last much longer given the strong emphasis the Obama campaign in putting in North Carolina. In fact, the Democratic National Convention is scheduled for North Carolina this year. This puts the President in a tough position. The fact is the overwhelming majority of Americans simply support the biblical definition of marriage as a lifelong union of one man and one woman. The institution of marriage pre-exists government, and as the key to a strong and flourishing society, voters are clearly uncomfortable with government attempting to redefine it.
One thing’s for sure, the marriage issue will continue to play an important part in the election conversation heading toward November 2012.