Guilford County, North Carolina Voters Pass Constitutional Amendment

Guilford County, North Carolina Voters Pass Constitutional Amendment

May 9, 2012 |

North Carolina voters have passed a controversial measure: a proposed constitutional amendment defining the only domestic legal union as the marriage between a man and a woman. WFDD’s Kathryn Mobley reports a tight race in Guilford County, with 58,520 voters supporting the measure. Those opposing: 58,448.

Elon University assistant law professor Michael Rich has written a number of papers about this measure. "The amendment will take immediate effect and you'll have a lot of private groups and government agencies trying to figure out exactly what the amendment does," says Rich. "The state government will have to react immediately and state agencies will have to determine if they're doing anything that could be construed as recognizing a domestic union other than a marriage.”

According to Rich, people are likely to see an impact on benefits to unmarried state employees -- and there may be some impact on child custody decisions. He says opponents to the amendment may challenge it in federal court, saying it violates the federal provision requiring equal protection under the law.