What is marriage?
You'll be hearing a good deal about Senate Bill 8 and House Bill 55 in the coming weeks, commonly known as the Defense of Marriage bills.
Those bills call for defining marriage in the state constitution, and that definition would say that marriage can only happen between a man and woman. The objective is to outlaw gay marriages in North Carolina. To do that, supporters would need to pass this legislation and then win a constitutional referendum.
The state already has a law on the books outlawing gay marriage, but supporters say they are worried that North Carolina could be forced to recognize civil unions or gay marriages from other states that do allow them. Also, they worry that equal protection measures in North Carolina's constitution could be used by the courts to overturn the state's no-gay-marriage law.
There will be a rally near the state capital next week in support of the bill. Backers are frustrated that the House and Senate leadership have not allowed a debate and vote on the legislation and are hoping to move the bills forward.
As I said, there will be more to write about this. For now, I'm going to leave you with comments from two Guilford County legislators explaining why they back the measures: John Blust and Phil Berger. (Click the name for audio.)
With all the budget mess today, I didn't have a chance to snag audio from opponents in the Guilford delegation, but will endeavor to do that soon.