At a press conference in Raleigh this morning, ACLU of North Carolina Executive Director Jennifer Rudinger delivered the following statement in response to the passage of Amendment One:

"My name is Jennifer Rudinger, and I am the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina. I am here today on behalf of more than 10,000 members and supporters of the ACLU in North Carolina who are committed to achieving full equality for all people in our state, and we will not rest until we reach that goal. We are honored to count ourselves among the hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians who rejected the politics of division and discrimination yesterday and rallied around a shared vision of a North Carolina where all families matter and no segment of society should ever be marginalized.

"Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once assured Americans that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Last night’s vote was a temporary setback in the much larger campaign for equal rights. In North Carolina and across the nation we see more and more people opening their hearts and turning toward justice on this issue every day.

"The diverse and wide-ranging opposition to this discriminatory amendment has created an unprecedented and still-growing coalition of groups and individuals committed to LGBT equality in North Carolina. This fight is not over. We are confident that the new partnerships, resources, and energy that came together to oppose Amendment One will continue working to expand freedom for all people in our state and confront attacks on civil liberties wherever they occur.

"Last night’s numbers might not reveal it, but the wind is at our backs. As public opinion continues to shift in favor of fairness and equality, it is no longer a question of if, but when, we will provide ALL our citizens with full and equal protection under the law. That day can’t come soon enough, but as we work together to bend the arc of history, we know that despite the temporary setback of Amendment One, we will get there … together."