Marriage petitions circulate
By Brittany Lawonn
The Forum, June 11, 2004

North Dakota moved one step closer to banning same-sex marriage Thursday when a group announced the circulation of petitions for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a "legal union between a man and a woman." 

The North Dakota Family Alliance must first obtain at least 25,688 voters' signatures by Aug. 3 to place the proposed amendment on the November general election ballot. 

The group does not expect any difficulties in obtaining the needed number of petitions or passing the amendment into law, said Christina Kindel, executive director of the group and chairwoman of the North Dakota Campaign to Protect Marriage. 

"People are excited about this," Kindel said. 

But Equality North Dakota will use all means necessary to fight the petition and its founders' "language of war," said Bob Uebel, co-chairman of the civil rights organization. 

"They are attempting to create a climate of fear and describe lesbian and gay couples as a threat," he said. 

Equality North Dakota is leading opposition to the Family Alliance position and working with other local and national groups to urge people not to sign the petition. 

"It's discrimination, pure and simple, and one group telling another that they are not equal," Uebel said. "And in my opinion that's not American." 

But Kindel said North Dakotans should have a right to vote on the "fundamental" issue. 

"This campaign is about supporting marriage," Kindel said. "It is not about opposing a particular group or group of peoples or persons. It is simply about marriage being between one man and one woman." 

Equality North Dakota's "do-not-sign campaign" began Sunday during events surrounding Fargo's first gay pride parade. Signatures of support were collected from people who do not want the amendment to go to a vote. 

Hundreds of members and supporters of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community marched during the parade and a number of speakers, including Rep. Mary Ekstrom, D-Fargo, addressed the pending petition and voiced opposition to the petition. 

Uebel said he is confident the amendment will not pass if put to a vote. 

"I genuinely believe there is a strong streak of live and let live in North Dakota," Uebel said. "I think even people who don't advocate equal marriage rights for lesbian and gay couples will realize that amending the constitution is drastic." 

Kindel said her organization will not stray from its course despite efforts to hinder its mission. 

Family Alliance began circulating petitions Monday and has so far not received any completed petitions. 

The organization hopes to reach every county in the state and will create a task force within the next week to help strategize and manage its campaign. Kindel said the group plans to take a grassroots approach to gathering signatures. 

Uebel said Equality North Dakota has distributed information to supporters and is working to compile more information, but will mainly use the internet to fight the petition. 

Family Alliance began circulating pamphlets last week titled "Is marriage in jeopardy?" featuring 10 frequently asked questions and information about the petition. 

Under the North Dakota constitution, residents can bypass the Legislature and place constitutional amendments to a vote by gathering a specified number of petition signatures. 

The signatures represent 4 percent of North Dakota's population, according to the 2000 Census. 

The proposed amendment would be added to Article 11 of the North Dakota constitution and reads: "Marriage consists only of the legal union between a man and a woman. No other domestic union, however denominated, may be recognized as a marriage, or given the same or substantially equivalent legal effect." 

The proposed amendment would take the Defense of Marriage Act one step further by prohibiting same-sex marriage in North Dakota and banning civil unions of homosexual couples. 

Former Gov. Ed Schafer signed the Defense of Marriage Act into law in 1997. The law, observed by 38 states, declares they are not obligated to recognize same-sex marriages performed in another state but do not have to outlaw them. 

Readers can reach Forum reporter Brittany Lawonn at (701) 241-5529