The North Carolina Legislature Really Doesn't Like Gays

A week from Tuesday, North Carolinians vote on whether to make gay marriage constitutionally illegal. This print ad campaign was launched to shock voters into defeating the Amendment.

This is how the Amendment One question will appear on the ballot:

[__] For [__] Against
Constitutional amendment to provide that marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized by this State.

The state already doesn't "recognize" same-sex unions. That apparently isn't a strong enough statement for North Carolina lawmakers.

These segregation-riffing ads—tagged "On May 8th, make history. Don't repeat it."— are via Every1Against1.

They argue that Amendment One "aims to turn all unmarried couples — whether same-sex or opposite-sex — into second-class citizens unworthy of basic dignity and fair treatment."

According to Wikipedia, after a similar constitutional amendment was passed in Ohio, several courts ruled that domestic violence protections did not apply to unmarried couples and cases were dismissed.

Read more about Amendment One on Wikipedia.

Ad agency: The Variable, Winston-Salem.