North Carolina Amendment 1
2012 state amendment / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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North Carolina Amendment 1 (often referred to as simply Amendment 1) was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in North Carolina that (until overruled in federal court) amended the Constitution of North Carolina to prohibit the state from recognizing or performing same-sex marriages or civil unions. The amendment did not prohibit domestic partnership agreements, but defined male–female marriage as "the only domestic legal union" considered valid or recognized in the state.[1][2] On May 8, 2012, North Carolina voters approved the amendment, 61% to 39%, with a voter turnout of 35%.[3] On May 23, 2012, the amendment took effect.[4]
State law had already defined marriage as being between a man and a woman prior to its passage.[5] Amendment 1 was the last state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage to be passed in the United States via voter referendum, as well as the shortest-lived: it was found unconstitutional in federal court in October 2014 after then-Attorney General Roy Cooper declined to further defend it.