On Wednesday, they announced new legislation that gives voters the opportunity to vote for a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as "the union of one man and one woman at one time."
Several Republican lawmakers at a news conference said the recent court decision in California throwing out that state's ban on marriage of same-sex couples makes it urgent that lawmakers here take up the legislation. North Carolina law already prevents such marriages.
"We think because of the importance of marriage, as the real building block of our society, we feel that the people of North Carolina deserve the right to vote on should our constitution be amended to make sure that someone's lawsuit ... that falls upon the ears of a favorable judge cannot be used to invalidate the law of this state," said Rep. David Lewis, a Harnett County Republican.
No Democrats attended the conference, but supporters of the amendment provided a list of 66 House members, including several Democrats, who have signed on as sponsors. House and Senate leaders, however, have blocked efforts in the past several years to bring the referendum legislation to the floor for a vote.
Supporters of marriage for same-sex couples say the legislation is an attempt to place an issue on the November ballot that would drive conservatives to the polls, and, if passed, would further limit rights that same-sex couples have.
"We believe it's broad enough that it would prevent private companies from providing domestic partner health benefits in our state, which many of our top employers are doing now," said Ian Palmquist, executive director for Equality North Carolina.
Marriage provides many benefits to couples and their children, such as access to health care and the ability to transfer assets. Rep. Ruth Samuelson, a Charlotte Republican, said homosexuals are not being denied those benefits -- they just have to marry someone of the opposite sex.
"If they want to get married, then they find a man or a woman and they get married and they have all those rights," she said.
Referendum supporters say allowing marriage of same-sex couples would harm North Carolinians because the institution of marriage would be so compromised that it would be rendered nearly meaningless. Marriage is in decline in Scandinavian countries that allow same-sex couples to marry, said John Rustin, a lobbyist with the N.C. Family Policy Council.
House Minority Leader Paul Stam of Apex said there are studies that show children do not fare as well in marriages of same-sex couples.
Palmquist said marriages were in decline in Scandinavian countries long before marriage of same-sex couples was recognized, so there's no cause-and-effect relationship. He also said that the studies were sponsored by opponents of such marriages, while independent studies have shown children fare just as well with same-sex parents in committed relationships.
North Carolina and Florida are the only two states in the South that have not passed voter referendums banning same-sex marriage. Florida is holding a referendum in November.