North Carolina's Gay Marriage Amendment Could Have Implications for November

Nate Silver reports that Amendment 1 is likely to pass on Tuesday, "North Carolina’s Ban on Gay Marriage Appears Likely to Pass" (via Memeorandum).

And here's this, from the Los Angeles Times, "Marriage amendment vote puts national focus on North Carolina":

The battle over the measure has turned North Carolina into a national political flash point. Opponents say the amendment is so broadly worded that it would discriminate not only against gays, but also unmarried heterosexual couples.

The outcome could offer an early hint of the state's leanings in November's presidential election: North Carolina, home to the 2012 Democratic National Convention, is an important swing state.

The debate has been fierce. Pro- and anti-amendment activists have held rallies to vie for voters. Ministers have strived to influence their congregants. Lawn signs have been stolen and defaced. And the state NAACP has accused proponents of trying to divide gays and blacks.

Opponents of the amendment have raised $2.2 million, and proponents $1.2 million, mostly for TV and radio ads; a third of the money has come from out of state.

The Rev. Billy Graham has weighed in, preparing a full-page ad expected to appear in newspapers over the weekend. In it, he urges fellow Tar Heels to vote for the amendment, saying: "At 93, I never thought we would have to debate the definition of marriage.''

President Obama has called the Republican-backed Defense of Marriage Amendment divisive, saying it would discriminate against gays.

"It's a hot issue — you hear people talking about it everywhere," said amendment supporter Ray McEntee. He was manning a booth outside a Pittsboro polling place next to a sign that read: "One Man. One Woman."

Early voting started April 19, with turnout running about 30% higher than in the primary four years ago and with especially large numbers of young people voting.

"It's almost entirely driven by interest in the amendment," said David McLennan, a political science professor at William Peace University in Raleigh. He predicts turnout will reach 40% to 45%, unusually high for a primary.

Like amendments in Michigan, Idaho and South Carolina, North Carolina's act would severely limit protections for same-sex and heterosexual unmarried couples, said Maxine Eichner, a family law professor at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

The measure would threaten domestic partnership health benefits for local government workers and strip unmarried couples of their rights to make decisions for an incapacitated partner, Eichner said.

Supporters of Amendment 1 say unmarried couples would be protected by language that permits private contracts and court actions "pursuant to such contracts.''

It's a tough amendment, but again, conservatives need to stand their ground against the forces of nihilist progressivism. See: "North Carolina Amendment One Same-Sex Marriage."