RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Several thousand people rallied Tuesday in Raleigh to urge lawmakers to let them to vote on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex ''marriage.''
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(Photo: AP / The News & Observer, John Rottet)Demonstrators rally outside the Legislature Building, urging lawmakers to allow citizens to vote on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, Tuesday, March 6, 2007, in Raleigh, N.C. Shown, starting second from left, are Lexi Robertson, 10, of High Point; Linda Bolz, and Teresa Bulla, both of Thomasville. All three are members of New Life Baptist Church in Thomasville.
The rally was organized by a group called Return America. State Capitol Police estimated the rally's attendance around 10,000.
Supporters said citizens shouldn't be denied a chance to vote to change the North Carolina Constitution to allow marriage only between a man and a woman.
Democratic leaders say no changes in state law are needed and that more important issues should take precedence.
Current state law says that a valid marriage is one "created by the consent of a male and female person." A 1996 law also states that North Carolina doesn't recognize gay marriages performed in other states.
But supporters of an amendment fear that same-sex couples who have received marriage licenses elsewhere could try to force North Carolina in court to recognize their partnerships, or that a judge could find the statute unconstitutional.
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