North Carolina residents will go to the polls this Tuesday to vote on Amendment One, which would define marriage as being between a man and a woman in the state's constitution, banning both gay marriage and civil unions (for heterosexuals too).

The state already bans same sex marriage, but some particularly anxious lawmakers feel it's their civic duty to prevent gays from forming legal unions in the state's constitution.

The New York Times reports that recent polls of the state and an analysis of past ballot initiatives in other states suggest the measure is likely to pass.

 I'm writing about it today because I've noticed that Amendment One has picked up some notable supporters in recent weeks.

First came Pastor Sean Harris who, whilst explaining his support for the Amendment, made national headlines for offering 'dispensation' to his parishioners to punch their children if they exhibit 'gay behavior.' Parents should squash that impulse 'like a cockroach,' he said, adding 'Give him a good punch, you're not going to act like that…' (See the Video below for the full details).

Then came Alex Wiles, a North Carolina man who filmed himself shooting a neighbors anti-Amendment One sign with his shotgun. 'So, somebody decided it would be a good idea to put this sign near my house,' Wiles says, putting on his shooting glasses. 'They ought to know not to put stuff like that near my house.'

To underline his threat Wiles then trains what looks like a 12-guage pump-action shotgun, taking aim and unloading two rounds into the yard sign. 'That’s how we do it ’round here,' he explains with a triumphant smile. 'That’s all folks.'

Then came Jodie Brunstetter, the wife of North Carolina State Senator and Amendment One supporter Peter Brunstetter. During a widely reported conversation with a freelance journalist, Brunstetter reportedly said her husband was the architect of Amendment One, and one of the reasons he wrote it was to protect the Caucasian race.

'The reason my husband wrote Amendment One was because the Caucasian race is diminishing and we need to uh, reproduce,' she said.

According to Daily Kos Brunsetter allegedly said, 'Caucasians created this country. We wrote the Constitution. This is about protecting the Constitution. There already is a law on the books against same-sex marriage, but this protects the Constitution from activist judges.'

Heartened by her alleged comments the Neo-Nazi and white supremacist site World-Wide White Pride posted the story on their website, underlining that the amendment had actually written to prevent the Caucasian race from extinction.

To recap, Amendment One is now supported by pastors who advocate punching gay or gay-suspected children, it's supported by sinister shotgun-wielding neighbors, it's supported by people want to protect the Caucasian race from extinction and by Neo-Nazis.

Once upon a time they used to wear sheets on their heads. These days their intolerance is worn right out in the open.

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