Yesterday, North Carolina voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman, effectively banning gay marriage in the state. Of course, the state's law already prohibits same-sex nuptials. But 61% of voters still felt the need to say yes to Amendment 1, which takes the anti-gay bigotry a step further: It also bans civil unions and strips same-sex couples of domestic partner benefits.
This article appears in May 10-16, 2012.