In today’s Duke Chronicle, you’ll find a joint statement from Duke College Republicans, Duke Democrats and Blue Devils United against Amendment One.

On a more personal note, I would like to thank the newly elected Duke College Republicans chair, Taylor Imperiale for his leadership and thoughtfulness on this issue.  I am proud to know that Duke is united against adding discrimination to the state constitution.

This past week, Duke College Republicans, Duke Democrats and Blue Devils United sat down for a dialogue about Amendment One facilitated by the Center for Multicultural Affairs. After an hour of discourse, we came to realize that we are all in agreement on some important aspects of this discussion. We believe it is the responsibility of North Carolina’s government to afford the current legal privileges of state-sponsored marriage to all committed couples, regardless of gender. We believe that these privileges are best conferred on all couples through civil unions that are legal in nature.

Furthermore, because marriage is a deeply personal and spiritual commitment, conferring marriage should be the responsibility of faith communities, families and free organizations of private citizens, not the responsibility of the government. In an ideal world, the government would not be involved in marriage, but would recognize all couples through civil … [Read more on the Chronicle website]