CARRBORO -- In the heart of the most liberal enclave in North Carolina, opponents of the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage heard strong words and sermons that their cause may be headed to defeat in the May primary election.
"The vast majority of people say they will support this amendment to ban same-sex marriage," said Alex Miller, who heads the Coalition to Protect North Carolina Families. "If the vote were today, it would pass."
Speaking at a meeting organized by the Orange County Human Relations Commission in Carrboro, Miller had harsh words for opponents of gay marriage, who wouldn't venture into the anti-nuclear, pro-gay rights enclave for a debate.
Miller challenged the amendment's supporters to "come here and defend it yourself."
One supporter Miller called out was Tami Fitzgerald, a lawyer and lobbyist who heads the N.C. Values Coalition, which is pushing the amendment.
Fitzgerald said she declined to be the token conservative on one-sided panels before an unfriendly audience. She said Miller has not asked her to debate since the bill passed the legislature last summer.
Would she entertain a debate organized by the League of Women Voters or some other group?
"I don't know," Fitzgerald said. "We'd evaluate it on a case-by-case basis."
Fitzgerald was correct on the nature of Sunday's audience of about 120 people; when asked by Miller, the entire audience was unanimous in opposition to the amendment.
Some in the audience hoped for a bigger Democratic turnout in the May primary since Gov. Beverly Perdue announced that she won't seek re-election. Competitive races for governor and lieutenant governor could boost Democratic turnout.
But higher Democratic turnout doesn't mean the amendment will fail, Miller said; polls show more than 50 percent of Democrats will support the amendment, he said.
Sunday's hearing had some trappings of a church social, with punch and cookies for guests and a potluck afterward. Two of the four speakers were preachers; the Rev. Brett Webb-Mitchell, a Presbyterian minister, and the Rev. Robert Campbell, an black minister who compared the amendment to racism.
But the heart of the presentation was a secular presentation by a law professor, Maxine Eichner of the UNC law school.
Eichner has written extensively on the amendment: "I am confident that I have spent more time considering the language of this amendment than anyone else in the state."
The amendment will have effects beyond same-sex couples, Eichner said.
If passed, local governments could not extend medical and other benefits to unmarried couples, she said. The amendment could undo domestic violence protections for unmarried couples. Unmarried couples could lose visitation rights at hospitals or their right to make medical decisions for their partners.
"It would be a tragedy for this amendment to pass without voters understanding what they are voting for," Eichner said.
Fitzgerald said Eichner is raising false alarms. "Those accusations are flat wrong and totally baseless and shows the lengths our opponents will go to make their arguments stick," Fitzgerald said.
