Leaders unruffled by marriage bill rally

RALEIGH -- North Carolina's top two legislative leaders remained cool Tuesday to a proposed state constitutional ban on same-sex marriages despite a noontime rally by thousands of evangelical Christians who support the measure.

North Carolina is one of only two Southern states that haven't passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and woman. That makes the state a focal point of increasing political agitation from religious groups focused on what they deem traditional family values.

On Tuesday, demonstrators on a grassy mall near the Legislative Building waved placards printed with phrases such as "5,000 Years Of Proof Isn't Enough?" and repeatedly chanted "Let us vote! Let us vote!"

Senate leader Marc Basnight and House Speaker Joe Hackney were unfazed. Hours after the rally, the two Democrats said North Carolina law already bans same-sex marriages.

"Gay marriage is not allowed in this state, so there's no need to change the constitution," said Basnight, from Manteo. "The constitution is not the place to make law. If so, every interest group would want their issue embedded in the constitution."

In more muted tones, Hackney, from Chapel Hill, agreed.

"I think North Carolina law is very clear that a marriage is between a man and a woman, and I don't know why there's a question about that," he said.

Republican legislators who support the bill say two North Carolina marriage laws could be readily overturned by a judicial ruling that finds them unconstitutional. One law was passed in 1871 and defines marriage as a union between man and woman; another passed in 1996 deems same-sex marriages invalid.

The legislators pointed to Massachusetts, where the state's highest court overturned a marriage law in November 2003 on constitutional grounds, forcing officials to recognize same-sex unions. Since then, five states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws recognizing same-sex unions. These unions are not viewed as marriages, but they offer varying degrees of rights and privileges, including health-care coverage for the partner of an employee.

In search of protection

Only a constitutional amendment can prevent this in North Carolina, said state Sen. Phil Berger, a Republican from Eden and the Senate's GOP leader.

"We need a constitutional amendment, because many people believe there's a danger that a judge -- maybe not in North Carolina, but a federal judge -- might force North Carolina to recognize a different kind of union," said Berger, one of more than a dozen legislators who attended the rally.

Two constitutional law scholars said the measure would provide only partial protection -- from a state judge overturning North Carolina's marriage laws. A federal judge could still find North Carolina's marriage laws unconstitutional, they said.

"There's no legislative or constitutional step you could take at the state level that could protect you fully," said Christopher Schroeder, a Duke University law professor.

But given the conservative makeup of both the state Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, judicial action to overturn North Carolina's marriage laws is unlikely, said William Marshall, a professor at the UNC law school.

The proposed ban goes beyond defining marriage, said Ian Palmquist, executive director of Equality NC, a gay-rights group. The ban could threaten domestic partner benefits granted by most of North Carolina's major employers. It could also make it difficult for an unmarried partner to get protective orders in domestic violence cases, he said.