NC weighs issue defining marriage

Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C.

North Carolina has long prided itself on its moderate politics dating to the civil-rights era, as well as its place as a New South leader and a hub for high-tech, banking and higher education.

Even though the state backed Democrat Barack Obama for president in 2008, it has maintained a socially conservative streak. North Carolina was represented for 30 years in Washington by the late Sen. Jesse Helms, the conservative stalwart who opposed abortion, gay rights and gun control.

Now the Tar Heel State finds itself drawing nationwide attention for a referendum today on a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman, effectively slamming the door shut on same-sex marriages.

In the campaign’s final days, former President Bill Clinton has lent his voice to robocalls opposing the amendment, and 93-year-old evangelist Billy Graham has been featured in full-page newspaper ads backing it. Experts expect the measure to pass.