Add N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue among Amendment One’s opponents.

Perdue, speaking at a women’s conference in Charlotte today, announced her opposition against the May 8 referendum that would recognize marriage between a man and a woman in the state constitution.

“Our constitution is for guaranteeing rights, not taking them away,” Perdue said. “And no matter what religious or moral background you come from, no one has the right to put discrimination of any kind into our constitution.”

Perdue, a Democrat, is not running for re-election.

As a state senator in 1996, Perdue voted to approve a statute outlawing same-sex marriage, but in Friday's speech to the Women’s Summit at UNC Charlotte, she urged voters to oppose the referendum. Perdue claimed Amendment One would negate domestic violence protections and hurt businesses and by making some benefits in same-sex unions illegal.

“It could change the laws that determine outcomes like emergency financial decisions, hospital visitation rights and child custody laws,” she said. “And it could take away domestic violence protections for all unmarried women in the state of North Carolina.”

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