AFER: Passage of North Carolina Anti-Marriage Equality Amendment a “Profound Injustice”

Los Angeles, CA – Today, North Carolina adopted Amendment One, a state constitutional amendment that prohibits marriage equality and any form of legal relationship recognition for gay and lesbian North Carolinians.   

While North Carolina already denies gay and lesbian couples the fundamental freedom to marry, Amendment One writes a ban into the state’s constitution.  The amendment goes beyond restricting marriage equality and poses a serious threat to the well-being of families, children, women and seniors in North Carolina. 

“The passage of Amendment One is a profound injustice.  Singling out a class of citizens for discriminatory treatment is unfair, unlawful and violates basic American values,” said AFER Executive Director Adam Umhoefer.  “Gay and lesbian Americans, like their fellow citizens, want nothing more than to marry the person they love.  Committed, loving couples and their families should not be denied this most fundamental freedom.” 

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About the American Foundation for Equal Rights
The American Foundation for Equal Rights is the sole sponsor of Perry v. Brown, the federal constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 8.  After bringing together bipartisan attorneys Theodore B. Olson and David Boies to lead its legal team, AFER successfully advanced the Perry case through Federal District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  The Perry case has the distinction of being the first federal freedom to marry lawsuit in American history.  The Foundation is committed to achieving full federal marriage equality.
www.afer.org