Opponent of a proposed gay marriage ban
in North Carolina will rally against the measure on Tuesday, a day
after it cleared the House.
The measure, which would define
marriage as a heterosexual union in the North Carolina Constitution,
was placed on a fast-track in the House, where it was introduced in
committee
at 1:30PM and cleared the full House
by 6PM.
The Senate is expected to take up the
amendment on Tuesday. If approved, voters would have the final say
during the May primary election, not during the November general
election as previously discussed.
Opponents of the ban will gather on
Halifax Mall, located across from the state's Legislative Building,
where they will be joined by singer Chely Wright. The 40-year-old
country music star is among a handful of celebrities openly married
to a person of the same gender. Wright
and Lauren Blitzer married in Connecticut last month.
On Monday night, about 100 opponents of
the amendment held a candlelight vigil outside the Pitt County
Courthouse. “We're equal, equal love, equal rights,” they
chanted in the pouring rain.
“I definitely don't think that we
need to be putting discrimination in our constitution,” Aaron
Lucier told CBS affiliate WNCT.
(Related: North
Carolina NAACP joins fight against gay marriage ban amendment.)