The Burdens of Amendment One by Jason Wunsch (Running Against its Author Paul "Skip" Stam in District 37)

As the Democratic Candidate for N.C House District 37, I am running against Paul "Skip" Stam, the co-sponsor and co-author of Amendment One. I have been asked to further elaborate on my reasoning for not supporting the amendment. What is important to understand is that Amendment One is not just about the N.C Constituiton preventing gay and lesbian marriage. Amendment One has far reaching consequences that could have a terrible effect on North Carolina and its residents. First it is important to state that Amendment One is unnecessary. Same sex marriage is alreadly illegal in North Carolina. Amendment One would have the State Constitution define marriage as between one man and one woman and as the only domestic legal union that is valid or recognized by this State. The Amendment as written will likely have adverse effects such as compromising unmarried partners from receiving government benefits, weakening domestic violence laws and clogging courts with litigation trying to interpret it. Furthermore, it has been argued that Amendment One could discourage businesses from coming to North Carolina. This is exactly what we don't need in our terrible economy. It appears Amendment One creates more confusion and has much further reaching negative implications than the law that is already in place. I would urge voters to vote against the Amendment on May 8th.