In North Carolina, an anti-gay marriage amendment will go to the polls in May. However, the wording of the amendment has many politicians worried and even regretting their support of the amendment, as reported on ThinkProgress.

The amendment, as it is currently drafted, states that it will “provide that marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.” However, the wording that prevents the state from “prohibit[ing] businesses from offering benefits to domestic partners, isn’t included on the ballot.”

Without that final sentence, politicians such as Republican State Senator Jim Davis are fearful of what the amendment might lead to as he said here:

I have a lot of libertarian in me. I believe firmly, passionately that a marriage should be defined as being between one man and one woman. But I also believe with all my heart that in a free America people who choose to live a different lifestyle should have a legal right to do so. Just don’t call it marriage. [This amendment will] restrict their freedoms a little more beyond my comfort zone.”

While I must give politicians like Davis some credit for realizing the epic failure of this amendment, I find the last sentence of his quote still rather troublesome. It’s okay to restrict freedoms of Americans as long as it’s within his comfort zone? It seems to me that we shouldn’t be restricting civil freedoms at all!

But the damage has been done. The amendment is on the ballot and extreme religious groups (i.e. NOM) have jumped on the bandwagon to get this amendment passed in North Carolina.

Now, we can only hope that the voters in the state will see the same flaws the proponents who helped pass the amendment now see.