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3,500 rally in Raleigh for marriage amendment
Baptist Press
May 19, 2011
2 MIN READ TIME

3,500 rally in Raleigh for marriage amendment

3,500 rally in Raleigh for marriage amendment
Baptist Press
May 19, 2011

RALEIGH — Around

3,500 Christians rallied in support of a constitutional marriage amendment May

17 at the North Carolina capitol,

urging legislators to let citizens vote on the issue.

North Carolina and West

Virginia are the only two states in the southeast

without an amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. A majority

of states (29) have one.

“We’re here today to protect families and make sure every child retains the

right to have both a mother and a father,” Bill

Brooks, president of the North Carolina Family Policy Council told the crowd,

according to the Associated Press.

“We’re here today to preserve our right to

religious freedom and our sincere belief that anything other than marriage

shared between a man and a woman goes against God’s design for creation.”

With Republicans now in charge of the legislature, amendment supporters are

hopeful the House and Senate will take action. The GOP took control of the

House and Senate in November for the first time since 1898. Democrats

previously had blocked an amendment from going forward.

Three-fifths of the legislature must approve it for it to appear on the 2012

ballot, AP reported.

Marriage amendments prevent state courts from legalizing “gay marriage,” as has

happened in four states. Conservatives warn the legalization of “gay marriage”

would have a widespread negative impact on society, affecting the tax-exempt

status of religious organizations, the religious liberty of private businesses

and curriculum in elementary schools.

Meanwhile, Rhode Island’s

legislature may vote this week on a civil unions bill that would grant same-sex

couples all the legal benefits of marriage, except the title. Critics say civil

unions are nothing more than a stepping stone to “gay marriage.”

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