North Carolina Amendment 1

===Employee benefits===
Some said that all unmarried couples, both same-sex and opposite-sex, and their children that are receiving domestic-partner benefits as public employees would no longer be eligible for those benefits under this amendment.<ref name="amendment one">{{cite web|title=Marriage Amendment Would Affect Many People, Panel Says|url=http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2012/apr/16/wsmet01-marriage-amendment-would-affect-many-peopl-ar-2166456/|work=[[Winston-Salem Journal]]|access-date=April 23, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420004132/http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2012/apr/16/wsmet01-marriage-amendment-would-affect-many-peopl-ar-2166456/|archive-date=April 20, 2012|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="Legal Effects">{{cite web | url=http://www.law.unc.edu/documents/faculty/marriageamendment/updatedamendentpointsfinal.pdf|title= What You Should Know About the Legal Effects of Amendment One| format = [[Portable Document Format|PDF format]] | date= February 3, 2012 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120329110429/http://www.law.unc.edu/documents/faculty/marriageamendment/updatedamendentpointsfinal.pdf| url-status=live| archive-date= March 29, 2012}}</ref> The second sentence in the amendment sought to address this issue by continuing to allow private-party contracts between employees and employers. For example, a private company could agree to extend health benefits to employees and their partners.<ref name="Catholic Voice">{{cite web | url=http://www.catholicvoicenc.org/Assets/NCMarriageProtectionAmendment-FactSheetFINALon12.1.11.pdf| format = [[Portable Document Format|PDF format]] | title= North Carolina Marriage Protection Amendment Fact Sheet | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141015225548/http://www.catholicvoicenc.org/Assets/NCMarriageProtectionAmendment-FactSheetFINALon12.1.11.pdf| url-status=dead| archive-date= October 15, 2014}}</ref> However, since "domestic legal union" was untested language in the courts, the issue was considered likely to face litigation to determine what the actual meaning would be and how it would be implemented.<ref name="Understanding">{{cite web| url= http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=225626| title= Understanding North Carolina's Proposed Amendment One| date= April 18, 2012| author= Geary, Mark| archive-url= https://archive.today/20130121145624/http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=225626| archive-date= January 21, 2013| url-status= dead}}</ref>