North Carolina Possible Ban on Same Sex Marriage

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/map-same-sex-marriage/

On Tuesday, May 8, the people of North Carolina will vote on an amendment to the state constitution that would effectively ban the state from recognizing any relationship other than a marriage between a man and a woman.  And while many other states already have such bans in place, North Carolina is the only state in the South to have staved off such a ban – for now.  The ban will appear on the ballot as Amendment 1 and has overreaching consequences, well beyond prohibiting marriage equality.  If passed, Amendment 1 would ban civil unions and strip domestic partnership benefits – including for opposite-sex couples, eliminate health care, prescription drug coverage and other benefits for public employees and children receiving domestic partner benefits, and even threaten protections for all unmarried couples in North Carolina.
Americans across the board favor equality and oppose discrimination.  In fact, 71 percent of Americans support allowing gay and lesbian couples to enter into legal agreements with each other that would give them many of the same rights as married couples.   Over the last few years, more and more Americans are opposing measures like Amendment 1 that discriminate against committed and loving gay and lesbian couples.  Since 2005 the average vote margin on state marriage bans has decreased by 16 percent.
I personally am not against same sex marriage. I believe that each individual should have a right to marry the person they love. Even though many may believe that it is against Bible principles; I believe that people have the right to believe otherwise. Same sex couples should have equal rights as those couples that consist of a man and women, including health care benefits for themselves and their partners and children. Each individual should have equal rights regardless of their sexual orientation. I believe that more people in our society should be pro same sex marriage.