People gathered to protest North Carolina’s proposed Amendment One. Pastor Jay Bakker—televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker Messner’s son—led the rally in Durham.
Amendment One would forbid legally recognizing civil unions and gay marriages. It could prohibit domestic partnerships, On Top Magazine reports.
The proposed measure goes before voters on May 8.
About 100 people joined Bakker and other religious leaders at the Faith in Action: Get Out The Vote event. Bakker’s decision to champion marriage equality was a no-brainer.
“My parents taught me to love people across the board and always be open to people,” Bakker told NBC affiliate WNCT. “They were always into equality and reaching out to the marginalized and things like that.”
Bakker lives in New York and is a co-founder of Revolution Church.
“I ignored all these amendments being passed and passed until it hit my hometown,” he added. “When I heard about it, I called down here and offered help.”
Amendment One, according to WNCT, would declare “traditional marriage” as the only legally-recognized domestic union in North Carolina. The Bakker-led Amendment One movement is markedly different than other pushes.
“Unlike what has been said recently by the current administration, it is not in any way involved in any form of discrimination. We would never tolerate such behavior. It is for the union of man and woman,” said Bishop Michael Burbidge of Raleigh’s Catholic Diocese.
Bakker hasn’t just protested in the name of marriage equality—he’s officiated. He married Sex and the City star Mario Cantone and partner Jerry Dixon.
“It was beautiful, because my family was there,” Cantone said, then, turning to co-host Joy Behar added: “I got married for the same reasons you did. We’re older now. We’ve been together 20 years. After 20 years, you’re like, ‘Thanks for the anti-climactic honeymoon government!”
