Activists on both sides are gearing up for what will no doubt be a massive political battle over North Carolina's proposed constitutional amendment forbidding same-sex marriage.
A major pro-amendment group, Vote FOR Marriage NC, started its campaign Monday. Amendment opponents kicked off their effort last week, with the Coalition to Protect North Carolina Families taking a leading role.
Both sides promise a full-court press leading up to the May 8 statewide vote.
"There's so much getting ready to happen," said Mary Jamis, a Winston-Salem activist working against the amendment. She is also a board member for Equality NC, a major backer for Protect North Carolina Families.
North Carolina law already recognizes marriage only as a union between man and woman. But the constitutional amendment would strengthen the law "against attempts by activist judges and legislators to redefine marriage," said Vote FOR Marriage chairwoman Tami Fitzgerald.
The group noted that North Carolina is the only Southeastern state without a limit on marriage in its constitution. The group pointed to a Guilford County lawsuit challenging the state's involvement in licensing traditional marriages, which in turn challenges its ability to deny licenses to same-sex couples.
"If activist judges or politicians were to succeed in redefining marriage in North Carolina in the future, there would be profound consequences for religious organizations, individuals, medical professionals and small businesses — and for society itself," Vote FOR Marriage said on its website.
The anti-amendment crowd is taking its message across the state starting Friday, when it will start a "Race to the Ballot" campaign at Western Carolina University. This will be the first in a series of rallies, and the movement is slated to hit Winston-Salem on Feb. 13, Jamis said.
There will also be an increased push to have same-sex couples request marriage licenses at their local courthouses, Jamis said. She and her partner visited the Davie County courthouse last week asking to get married, she said.
"The register of deeds there was very respectful," Jamis said. "Of course, we were denied."
There's also an Equality NC board meeting this weekend to focus on strategy and to coordinate various efforts, Jamis said.
Ron Baity, a local minister whose Return America group successfully pushed for the state legislature to call this spring's referendum on the amendment, said he's been strategizing with preachers across the state.
Baity said he was in Greensboro last week and was scheduled to be in Lexington on Tuesday. He plans to meet with Asheville ministers early next month. Baity's group isn't affiliated with Vote FOR Marriage NC, but he's familiar with it, he said.
Both sides have a religious element to their movements. The Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, which represents about 4,300 churches, endorsed the amendment last fall. Group president Mark Harris said Monday, in a Vote FOR Marriage statement, that the amendment is "about preserving marriage as we've always known it."
Over the weekend, Episcopalians in central North Carolina approved a resolution reaffirming their opposition to the amendment. That group represents about 120 congregations.
Both sides are receiving money from out-of-state groups on the amendment, which has captured national attention. Fitzgerald said the pro-amendment National Organization for Marriage has given funds to her group, but declined last week to say how much.
The group is expected to file its campaign finance report by week's end.
The Coalition to Protect NC Families reported receiving more than $226,000 in cash and in-kind contributions during the last two months of 2011. The Washington-based Human Rights Campaign has provided more than $50,000 in donations and payments to employ coalition staff, its report with the State Board of Elections said.
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