I am so disappointed in the citizens of North Carolina. This is one of the states that refused to ratify the US Constitution until it provided for individual rights as written into the North Carolina Constitution.
When the North Carolina delegation to the constitutional convention voted to ratify the new US Constitution they withheld ratification submitting some rights of citizens to be considered. The following is from the text of that (http://www.usconstitution.net/rat_nc.html);
“DECLARATION OF RIGHTS.
1. That there are certain natural rights, of which men, when they form a social compact, cannot deprive or divest their posterity, among which are the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.”
This does not say that you can deny the rights of any citizen based on sexual orientation, the law is either for all of us or for none of us.
Yet when it came down to really honoring the individual rights more than the religious beliefs of part of the citizens, you went with your religious beliefs and will now force them on others. In the North Carolina Constitution, Article 1 (Declaration of Rights), Section 1. The equality and rights of persons. We hold it to be self-evident that all persons are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, the enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor, and the pursuit of happiness. Later in that same Article they did address the religious rights of citizens; Sec. 13. Religious liberty. All persons have a natural and inalienable right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences, and no human authority shall, in any case whatever, control or interfere with the rights of conscience.
It does not surprise me that a majority of citizens would vote to pass the resolution for this amendment, they have not been given the information to make a rational decision, they do not understand their own rights under the constitution, or their responsibility to their fellow citizens. The group behind it are clearly a religious group hiding behind the title of North Carolina Values. Many things will be affected by this decision; legislators who will side with this group will pass laws based on this amendment to further limit the lives of people whose lifestyles they do not approve of. That will be easy now because of their success in getting this amendment passed. We have come so far toward the original writings of the real equality and rights of persons here, many times rights that were being ignored were brought to lite and the law was changed to further observe the rights of a minority that had been ignored. Now all that progress has been lost to a pro Christian group with money and power to subdue the equal rights of all citizens. They will continue to work toward making North Carolina a theocracy under their rule.
They have publicly announced that this cannot be changed, that gay marriage will never be allowed in this state. That is not true, just as it came into law on May 8th, 2012 it can be changed by the people of North Carolina. I sincerely hope that all affected by this bring it to the supreme court as a violation of their civil rights.

William Stinson
Edenton