A final (for now) word on the marriage amendment
First off, some more coverage from:
In the 45 minutes or so when it looked like there might be floor vote at some point, I began collecting opinions from the Guilford County honorables. The strongest take was from Rep. Pricey Harrison, who offered:
"It's a civil rights issues for me and I can't condone writing bigotry and hatred into our constitution."
We'll put her down as a "no" vote, I think.
Reps. Alma Adams and Earl Jones weren't even aware the bill was moving and didn't care to offer a take one way or the other.
Rep. Maggie Jeffus was also a "no" vote, saying the measure was unnecessary.
By the time I was ready to get around to Republican Reps. John Blust and Laura Wiley, the issue was a moot point because the Speaker had declared he would kill the bill.
I'm no expert, so it's possible there's a way for the GOP to bring this thing up again this year, but I don't think so. And with the Speaker of the House willing to use the full powers of his office to kill the thing, its chances don't look good in any case.