NC Anti-Gay

From the BBC:
"North Carolina approves constitutional ban on gay union"

Initial results show North Carolina has approved a constitutional amendment effectively banning same-sex marriage or civil unions. State election officials said 61% had voted for the measure banning gay unions, and 39% opposed it. Recent polling had suggested the ban would pass, defining marriage as only between a man and a woman. North Carolina law already bans gay marriage but the vote enshrines this in the constitution. With the passage of the amendment, North Carolina becomes the 29th state to use its state constitution to explicitly ban gay unions. Eight states and the District of Columbia allow gay and lesbian couples to marry. Same-sex marriage laws have passed this year in New Jersey, Maryland and Washington state.

^ I have said before that I believe the voters of a state should decide whether to allow gay marriage or not. What gets me about this vote is that it goes a step too far and bans gay civil unions. It is one thing to not feel right about gay marriage - although I don't personally see any reason to fear it - and another to deny gays the basic rights that straight couples in a common-law relationship have. This vote shows that the vast majority of people in NC are just as simple-minded as the stereotypes of Southerns show them to be. ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17997794