Gay marriage will never pass in North Carolina.I was addressing your statement about having to provide services to homosexuals as a business owner, you already have to do that as a function of the law (a law which I disagree with, but yet still the law).
Just hold on to that thought if you take comfort in it and it helps.
But history is not a predictor of how people will vote on Same-sex Civil Marriage. We say a 20% shift in one State that installed discriminatory statutory law in 2000 and by 2008 that same state when it voted again only succeeded by 2.5%.
A person NEVER flew under powered flight, did that mean that the Wright brothers didn't succeed? SSCM will pass at the ballot box, this year? Maybe. Maybe not. But the fact remains that as younger voters have a greater impact on the outcomes of elections over the years then outcomes will change. May take 5 more years, might take 25 more years.
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In many states it will now take another amendment to their State's Constitutions to allow it...
Yep, just like they were passed at the ballot box, they can be repealed at the ballot box.
The Federal government will be recognizing all legal Civil Marriages in the next couple of years either through the Congressional repeal of DOMA or the SCOTUS overturning statutory law that discriminates between like situated citizens (Same-sex Civilly Married couples and Different-sex Civilly Married couples) based on gender and with no compelling government interest except the intend to discriminate. Section 3 of DOMA (the part that limits Federal recognition) will go down the tubes. Section 2 of DOMA (which provides States don't have to recognize Civil Marriage not recognized in their State ONLY based on gender) will probably be around for a few extra years. I see, and yes this is IMHO, will be repealed and replaced with a more Constitutional version which provides that State don't have to recognize Civil Marriages that conflict with their own laws for ANY reason.
and I don't see that happening anytime soon.
"Soon" is a subjective term not a quantitative term. In 2004 there were Zero, 0, nadda, zip legal entities that recognized Same-sex Civil Marriage in any capacity. Now there are 9 (Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, The District of Columbia, California*, and Maryland**)
* Despite Prop 8 (which would not pass today), the Government of California still recognizes as Civilly Married all California Civil Marriage performed between June and November of 2008 and all Civil Marriage performed out of state during that time.
**Maryland also recognizes legal Civil Marriage from outside the State irregardless of gender even though, currently, Same-sex Civil Marriages cannot be performed there. (Maryland Attorney General [Feb 2010], Maryland Court of Appeals (Port v. Cowan, May 2012])
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