Town: Zap ‘defense of marriage’ law in N.C. - Chapel Hill council wants repeal of law banning gay unions

Durham Herald-Sun, April 15, 2004

CHAPEL HILL -- The Town Council voted unanimously Wednesday to ask state legislators to do away with North Carolina's "defense of marriage" law, which bans same-sex marriages.

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Councilman Mark Kleinschmidt proposed making the request part of the council's legislative agenda, and he described it Wednesday as a way for the town to say, "Hell yeah, we're about fairness, we're about equality, we're about treating people fairly."

"If that means stepping out and making some noise, then give me the noisemaker," he said.

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The proposal is aimed at a law the state Legislature passed in 1996, the same year that Congress passed the national Defense of Marriage Act. The federal law defines marriage as a union between a man and woman and gives states autonomy in deciding whether to recognize same-sex marriages from other states or countries.

The N.C. law bans same-sex unions and says that same-sex marriages performed outside the state are not valid in North Carolina.

Joe Herzenberg, a former council member who is gay, spoke in favor of Kleinschmidt's petition. Herzenberg said he was proud that, back in 1975, town officials protected employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation, and he hoped the council would vote unanimously about the same-sex marriage request.