By L.A. Williams, Correspondent
Christian Action League
It’s only two sentences, but the 55 words that the Secretary of State’s Office officially added to the N.C. Constitution on Thursday of this week will help to preserve marriage as we know it, between a man and a woman.
“Now, we can rest assured that marriage will never be left up to the whims of activist judges or politicians to decide,” wrote Vote FOR Marriage NC Chairwoman Tami Fitzgerald in an e-mail announcement of the Secretary of State’s action. “By God’s grace and because of your support, North Carolina is now the thirty-first state in the union to protect marriage in its state constitution.”
Voters approved the Marriage Protection Amendment 61 to 39 percent on May 8 after an intense campaign. Nearly 2.2 million ballots were cast with a voter turnout of almost 35 percent.
“There is hardly a day that has passed since May 8 that I haven’t rejoiced over the passage of this critical amendment. I thank God for all the North Carolinians who believe in the sacred institution of marriage – this fundamental building block of society. I am thankful to God for everyone who campaigned and worked so hard for the amendment’s passage. Most importantly, I am thankful to God for all those who went to the ballot box and cast their vote for traditional marriage,” said the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League. “This historic action now places into our state’s most sacred document – its constitution – the will of the people with respect to our culture’s most sacred institution.”
As of Thursday, the following section has been added to Article 14 of the N.C. Constitution:
Sec. 6. Marriage.
Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State. This section does not prohibit a private party from entering into contracts with another private party; nor does this section prohibit courts from adjudicating the rights of private parties pursuant to such contracts.