North Carolina Could Institute Constitutional Ban on Gay Marriage

RALEIGH, NC (The Blaze/AP) – It seems the gay marriage debate is heating up in North Carolina. Last month, The Blaze brought you the story of Pastor Nancy Petty, a lesbian spiritual leader at Pullen Memorial Baptist church in Raleigh, N.C., who is refusing to sign marriage licenses until a marriage equality is instituted in the state.

Now with Republicans in charge of the North Carolina Legislature for the first time in 140 years, conservatives are making a move to institute a gay marriage ban in the state. Lawmakers return Monday to Raleigh to debate proposed amendments, including one to let voters next year decide if a state law already on the books defining marriage as between one man and one woman should be imprinted into the state constitution as well.

“It’s time that we settled this issue,” said GOP state Rep. Dale Folwell of Winston-Salem, the No. 2 leader in the House and a key amendment proponent.