At the bottom of this page. Polls in North Carolina close at 7:30PM local time.
Our President Brian Brown will also be in Raleigh at the Vote FOR Marriage NC campaign celebration. He will be tweeting live updates at @BrianSBrown if you are on Twitter.
One gay marriage supporter in North Carolina posts about his personal lack of respect for property, free speech and the Democratic process:
From a Politico story on "President Obama's Marriage Muddle":
Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen, who briefly served as director of the LGBT advocacy group Human Rights Campaign ...
“We are going lose in North Carolina today and that will make the POTUS campaign think they are right, and the activist crowd say now is the time for leadership,” Rosen said. “This thing gets messier as the election goes on. It is a function of the timing of the issue, not anyone’s fault.”
Charlie Spiering at the Washington Times:
After David Gregory of Meet the Press teased out Vice President Joe Biden's personal support for gay marriage, members of the press grew increasingly impatient with President Obama's own views on gay marriage.
A frustrated White House Press Corps yesterday ganged up on White House Press Secretary Jay Carney during the press briefing asking him at least 28 questions about the president's seemingly hypocritical stance on gay marriage, accusing him of wanting to have it both ways.
Spiering goes on to quote the 28 questions they asked of Jay Carney.
While we await news out of North Carolina with anticipation, feel free to watch 15 minutes of the exchanges to feel the palpable frustration in the room:
MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts speaks with Jeremy Kennedy, Coalition to Protect North Carolina’s Families, and Dr. Mark Harris, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church and member of the Executive Committee of Vote for Marriage North Carolina, about the vote on that state’s marriage amendment and its implications for the national fight for marriage.
Kennedy is still holding out hope for an upset victory: "I think that tonight after the polls close that we still have an opportunity for what many would consider a great upset."
Dr. Harris makes his case in this manner:
"...we've seen activist judges who have cast statutes aside very swiftly. We've also seen where those decisions were made either by those judges or by the legislatures. The Constitutional amendment keeps this issue in the hands of the people. That, to me, is the most important aspect of this whole thing. The citizens of North Carolina are going to the polls today because they're getting an opportunity to vote on a simple statement that says that marriage between a man and a woman will be the only recognized domestic union in this state. It's really that simple. And we're having an opportunity today to let the people decide -- democracy at its best."
President Barack Obama was scheduled, albeit briefly, to visit North Carolina on Election Day to make an speech in Asheville about the economy.
The White House sent the notice Wednesday last week but reversed course about five hours later, saying the trip wasn't taking place, according to a North Carolina congressional office notified about the trip. The false alarm isn't unprecedented -- but the fact the White House even considered visiting the state on primary election day is interesting.
A controversial vote on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and civil unions is on today's ballot. Obama issued a statement against the amendment earlier this year -- but polls show it is likely to win by a solid margin.
Talk about trying to distance yourself, literally, from an issue.
Meanwhile, as Dan Halper reports for the Weekly Standard, the White House is still punting on the question of the President's view on marriage:
White House spokesman Jay Carney was asked aboard Air Force One about President Obama's position on same sex marriage. He punted. Again.
Not to be lost amid all the other important events happening today -- most notably the marriage vote taking place in North Carolina -- is this news from Gallup that they are finding less people in support of same-sex marriage as they did last year: only 50% (as opposed to 53% last year). Similarly, they found more people opposed to same-sex marriage: 48% (as opposed to only 45% last year).
So much for a rising tide of support for redefining marriage. Once again, that has not proved to be the case.
Here's how Gallup describes it:
This year's results underscore just how divided the nation is on this issue. As a result, President Obama's campaign strategy team obviously is continuing to grapple with how to handle it -- with the vice president on the one hand essentially endorsing legalized gay marriage, while the administration on the other hand stops just short of the same pronouncement.
Of course we need to remember that not all polls are created equal, and that 30 out of 30 states who have actually voted on marriage have voted to protect marriage.
The Alliance Defense Fund's comprehensive survey, which used different language than Gallup uses, found 62% of Americans favor 1M1W marriage.
NOM's Thomas Peters interviewed by MSNBC.com about the North Carolina vote:
"We’re having a great debate about marriage in this country and it’s not at all settled about which way we’re going to go. Obviously … we believe that’s going to be settled one way,” said Thomas Peters, cultural director of the National Organization for Marriage, which supports the amendment. “In North Carolina we are … cautiously optimistic, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we had a very good day there.”
... Peters said his organization was working on collecting signatures to get popular votes held in states where same-sex marriage was approved by lawmakers in the last year, Maryland and Washington, was campaigning for an upcoming constitutional amendment vote in Minnesota and opposing a referendum in Maine that would allow for same-sex marriage.
This is how the marriage debate ought to be settled which is by allowing the people … to vote on it,” he said."
MSNBC's Chuck Todd calls North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue's position against the Marriage Protection Amendment and against gay marriage "very odd".
We agree. Why are some Democrats having such trouble explaining their true views on marriage and protecting vs. redefining it?
Opponents of North Carolina's Marriage Protection Amendment have been making the false allegation that it would take health benefits away from same-sex couples and their children.
On the eve of the election, with polls showing the amendment heading towards passage, now comes an opinion from the County Attorney of one of the most liberal counties in the state saying the claims made by the opponents are, sure enough, not true (emphasis added):
Recognizing the lack of precedence to consider and the ambiguity attached to the term, “domestic union”, it is the opinion of the Durham County Attorney that the passage of “Amendment One” is unlikely to affect Domestic Partner Benefits currently offered by Durham County Government.
You can read the full decision in Microsoft Word format here.
Anne Graham Lotz of Raleigh, a Christian speaker and daughter of the Rev. Billy Graham, powerfully endorses the North Carolina Marriage Protection Amendment:
You can read her statement here.
Vote FOR Marriage NC: ...In April, Anne Graham Lotz, released a statement outlining her support of the Marriage Protection Amendment. Although Lotz stated that she rarely offers an opinion on political matters, Lotz said, “…there are times when a political issue is also a moral and spiritual issue that I need to take a stand on.” Lotz offered biblical, spiritual, practical, and personal reasons for her support of preserving marriage as the union between one man and one woman in the North Carolina Constitution.
“We are thankful for the support of Anne Graham Lotz, named by The New York Times as one of the five most influential evangelists of her generation, and the Graham family as we work to preserve marriage in North Carolina,” said Tami Fitzgerald, Chairwoman of Vote FOR Marriage NC. “Across our great State, faith leaders are standing up in support of protecting marriage as the union between one man and one woman. We as Christians must defend marriage before activists radically redefine God’s institution of marriage in North Carolina.”
Dear Marriage Supporter,
I hope you've already contacted friends and family in North Carolina, urging them to vote FOR the Marriage Protection Amendment today.
But if you haven't, it's not too late!
Polls are open until 7:30 this evening (Eastern Time), and every vote counts as North Carolina voters have the opportunity to become the 31st state to adopt a constitutional amendment protecting marriage.
Please, do it right now. Forward this email to anyone you know who lives in North Carolina, and urge them to vote FOR the Marriage Protection Amendment!
We have just a few hours left, and our opponents have pulled out all the stops in a desperate attempt to deceive voters. Last week, numerous state law enforcement officials publicly informed voters that nothing in the Marriage Protection Amendment would jeopardize domestic violence protections. And just yesterday, the Durham County district attorney admitted that pro-SSM activists' main arguments are nothing more than baseless scare tactics.
Why are they trying to change the subject? Because even their own pollster is telling them that "North Carolinians...really firmly believe that marriage is between a man and a woman and it should stay that way."
Of course that's true, despite what you read in the newspaper...but the final outcome today will hinge not on what most voters believe about marriage—but on how many voters make the effort to get to the polls to vote FOR the Marriage Protection Amendment.
So please contact your friends and family in North Carolina right now to be sure that they have voted today!
The stakes are simply too great. We can't afford to let up until we have crossed the finish line at 7:30pm tonight. Please, take a moment right now to forward this message to friends and family in North Carolina, or use the social networking buttons below to spread the word on Facebook or Twitter.
Our President Brian Brown debates gay activist Richard Socarides on the evening before today's North Carolina Marriage Amendment. He also discusses VP Biden's recent comments on same-sex couples:
Watch Politics of Gay Marriage: Biden Remarks Rekindle Culture War on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.
Brian Brown on North Carolina:
We have heard a lot of the talk that Richard just said that somehow the people have changed on this issue. The New York Times recently went so far as to say they think there's going to be a big upset in North Carolina, with the people rejecting an amendment to protect marriage. The polls show that that simply is not the case. I'm expecting a big win [today]. And I wonder how folks are going to attempt to spin that who somehow think that 30 of 30 doesn't equal a [...] a very, very strong consensus of the American people that marriage is by definition the union of one man and one woman.
Brian Brown on the Vice President's comments:
"...President Obama continues to say that he believes marriage is the union of a man and a woman. And, clearly, that's because of the political reality that strong numbers of Democrats oppose redefining marriage. In North Carolina, the number is somewhere around 48 percent that are going to vote for the marriage protection amendment. [...] So it's very bad politically for the administration or for the Democratic Party to endorse redefining marriage."
Today, pastors and religious leaders rallied in support of the Marriage Protection Amendment at press conferences in Raleigh and Charlotte. Over 250 faith leaders signed a statement encouraging North Carolinians to support the May 8 ballot initiative preserving marriage as the union between one man and one woman in the State Constitution. The pastors in attendance at the press conferences represented only a portion of the 6,000 churches that are partnering in the effort to protect marriage in North Carolina.
... “Faith leaders across our great State understand the need to preserve marriage with a constitutional amendment,” said Tami Fitzgerald, Chairwoman of Vote FOR Marriage NC. “The threat to marriage is real in North Carolina, and we must protect marriage from judges and politicians who seek to redefine our values and pose threats to our religious freedoms. We are thankful for the faithful support of the 250 pastors and religious leaders and countless others across North Carolina who are taking a righteous stand for truth in North Carolina.”
Vote FOR Marriage NC is the referendum committee working to pass the Marriage Protection Amendment on May 8. The campaign is comprised of a multitude of policy organizations, denominations, and civic groups. Its Executive Committee consists of the Christian Action League, NC Values Coalition, a coalition of African American pastors, NC Baptists, and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM).
North Carolinians interested in more information about Vote FOR Marriage NC may visit the campaign’s website: www.VoteForMarriageNC.com.
Clinton's script is mostly a rehashing of debunked myths and falsehoods about what the Marriage Protection Amendment will do, but the former President's involvement reminds us that what happens in North Carolina today has wider consequences across the nation:
Hello, this is President Bill Clinton. I’m calling to urge you to vote against Amendment One on Tuesday May 8. If it passes, it won’t change North Carolina’s law on marriage. What it will change is North Carolina’s ability to keep good businesses, attract new jobs, and attract and keep talented entrepreneurs. If it passes, your ability to keep those businesses, get those jobs, and get those talented entrepreneurs will be weakened. And losing even one job to Amendment One is too big of a risk. Its passage will also take away health insurance from children and could even take away domestic violence protections from women. So the real effect of the law is not to keep the traditional definition of marriage, you’ve already done that. The real effect of the law will be to hurt families and drive away jobs. North Carolina can do better. Again, this is Bill Clinton asking you to please vote against Amendment One. Thanks.
