The Durham City Council passed a resolution supporting same-sex marriage on Monday night. WRAL covers the highlights and lowlights of the Monday night meeting here and explains that while Durham council members do not have the authority to change state law, the resolution does show the city’s support for same-sex marriage.
The resolution also points out the striking need for North Carolina to address the definition of marriage on the state level. For the past five years, North Carolina legislators have refused to consider legislation that would define marriage as solely between one man and one woman. This year, SB 272 and HB 361 were both sponsored by a bipartisan majority and provided strong language to defend traditional marriage. However, these bills never even received a committee hearing.
North Carolina is the only state in the southern United States that does not have a constitutional amendment protecting marriage as between one man and woman. Until North Carolina legislators echo what public opinion already tells them, the State is subject to more attacks, like the one in Durham, on traditional marriage.
The whole point of marriage is to provide a conducive environment for offspring. If the couple cannot physiologically reproduce, then why are we better off, as a society, giving the couple advantages over two individuals?