North Carolina voters choose discrimination

Bad news: At the polls yesterday, the people of North Carolina passed Amendment 1, which amends the state's constitution to say "Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in the state."

In other words, discrimination will now be the law in that state.

And this isn't just a vote against same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage was already illegal in North Carolina. Amendment 1 appears to also invalidate civil unions and domestic partnership benefits even among opposite-sex couples.

It appears to imply that married couples will be first-class citizens, while everyone else is second-class at best.

It will be interesting to see if any court challenges arise (and how soon).

Stay tuned.